


Memory Is All We Are

by Geekygirl24



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Alpha Imelda, F/M, Like... seriously, Omega Héctor, This is way more dramatic and violent than the film, way more - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-05-03 03:20:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 29,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14559714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geekygirl24/pseuds/Geekygirl24
Summary: Despite his family's generations-old ban on music, caused by his omega great, great grandfather leaving his family behind, young, Alpha Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his Alpha idol Ernesto de la Cruz. When he finds out that the Alpha might have known his own grandfather, Miguel makes a mistake that leads him to the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. After meeting a confused, and forgetful omega, the two embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU 

Everyone has set ideas on how Alphas and Omegas should behave.

 

Alphas are strong, they protect their families and they earn the money.

 

Omegas pop out and care for the children, staying at home and obeying their Alphas’ every wish.

 

And Betas did everything else.

 

Now, personally, I’m an Alpha and my Abuelita Elena loves that.

 

Another strong Alpha to carry on the Rivera name, to run the shop with the same discipline that she does, that Mama Imelda did.

 

I admit it… we seem like the perfect family, don’t we? Made up of Alphas, betas and the only omega (Mama Coco), running a successful business where people came from far and wide to buy Rivera shoes.

 

But it wasn’t always like this.

 

The Rivera family are the most unique family in Santa Cecilia, in the fact that music is not allowed… at all.

 

And it is that reason, that I believe I’m cursed. A music lover in a family that has banned music for decades.

 

And it all started a little under one hundred years ago.

 

Now, I know I already mentioned that Mama Imelda was an Alpha… well, she met the perfect omega (that’s how Mama Coco used to describe him). She never told me his name, but the omega, the Papa… he was a musician.

 

When Mama Coco was a little clearer, she had such wonderful stories to tell about her Papa… how he wrote a song just for Mama Imelda in an attempt to show his love and adoration for her. How they would sing and dance as a family, with the Papa using them as his muses for all of his songs.

 

Omega’s, back in those days anyway, were meant to stay at home and by good little home-makers…. But the Papa had a dream, a dream to share his music with the world, and Mama Imelda loved him so much, that she let him go, making him promise that he would return.

 

But he never did.

 

Mama Imelda was hurt by this betrayal, the knowledge that her omega had willingly left his family and abandoned his Alpha…. But I don’t think she was completely angry though… other Alphas would have taken another omega and bonded with them in order to show just how little they needed to bad omega.

 

Mama Imelda never once considered bonding with someone else and remained loyal to him until the very end.

 

Instead, she made the decision to ban music from her home completely, not wanting her impressionable omega daughter to go down the same path as her Papa. She rolled up her sleeves and learnt how to make shoes.

 

Now, she could have made candy, fireworks or sparkly underwear for wrestlers… but she chose shoes.

 

And then she taught Mama Coco… and then Papa Julio, Mama Coco’s beta husband…. And then all the grandkids got roped in! 

 

And as the family grew, so did the business.

 

Music had torn her family apart, but shoes brought them all together.

 

Now Mama Imelda died long before I was born, but we still hear her story every Día de los Muertos… Mama Coco may not remember those stories as well as she used to, and she barely remembers her Papa anymore, but everyone else keeps Mama Imelda’s memory alive.

 

“Hola Mama Coco!”

 

“How are you Julio?”

 

Actually… my name is Miguel. She might be confused, but she’s still very easy to talk to… I tell her everything! 

 

Like, I changed how I ran so that I went way faster!

 

Or my love of wrestling!

 

Or the fact that I only have a dimple on one side!

 

“Miguel, eat your food, you’re as skinny as a pre-pubescent omega! In fact, you’re almost a twig! Have some more!”

 

“No gracias.”

 

“… I asked if you would like some more tamales?”

 

“S-S-S-S-Sí?”

 

“That’s what I thought you said!”

 

Yeah…. There’s a reason my Abuelita Elena is Head Alpha. She took all of her inspiration from the last Head Alpha, Mama Imelda, and runs the household in exactly the same way.

 

Which means that I even think about a song, all I hear is;

 

“No music!”

 

“No music!”

 

“No music!”

 

I’m a musician at heart and this is killing me!

 

I think we’re the only family in the whole of Mexico who hates music! And the rest of my family is completely fine with this.

 

Not me.

 

The instant I’m allowed out, I head straight to the one place I’m not allowed to go… the plaza. I love running past the mariachi bands, tapping on the wooden figures of the Alebrijes and hanging out with Dante.

 

Dante’s a dumb dog, but he’s loving all the same.

 

Now I know I’m not supposed to like music, but it’s not my fault… it’s Ernesto de la Cruz’s!

 

He’s the greatest musician in all the world! And an Alpha, just like me!

 

“Here, in this plaza, a young Ernesto de la Cruz took his first steps to becoming the most beloved musician in all of Mexican history!”

 

He started out as a total nobody in Santa Cecilia, like me! But when he played music, he made people fall in love with him! And yeah, there was no official bonding with an omega, that anyone’s aware of, but omegas loved him!

 

He starred in movies, he had the coolest guitar, he could fly, and he wrote the best songs ever.

 

But my personal favourite, is Remember Me.

 

“Remember me  
Though I have to say goodbye  
Remember me  
Don't let it make you cry!”

 

All the music, the bright lights, the dancers!

 

“For ever if I'm far away  
I hold you in my heart  
I sing a secret song to you  
Each night we are apart

 

Remember me  
Though I have to travel far  
Remember me  
Each time you hear a sad guitar  
Know that I’m with you  
The only way that I can be!”

 

He lived the kind of life everyone dreams about…

 

“Remember me!”

 

… until 1942, when he was crushed by a giant bell during one of his performances.

 

I want to be just like him… sometimes when I look at De la Cruz, I get this feeling… like we’re connected somehow! Like, if he could play music, maybe I could to!

 

If it wasn’t for my family.


	2. The Ofrenda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU 

“If it wasn’t for my family.”

 

“Ai, ai. ai muchacho!” the mariachi man groaned, “I asked for a shoe shine, not your life story.”

 

Miguel winced at the annoyed tone in the betas voice, quickly getting back to work, “Sorry! Sorry! It’s just that… I can’t talk about this with anyone else except Mama Coco… and she doesn’t really respond anymore.”

 

“Look…” the mariachi leaned forwards, “… you’re an Alpha, right kid? You should walk right up to your family and demand the respect you deserve! Demand that you be allowed to do whatever you want, including playing music!”

 

“I-I can’t do that! Abuelita Elena is the head Alpha, and what she says, goes!”

 

“Ah!” The beta waved his hand in dismissal, “When I was a kid, Alpha’s your age were battling to be Head Alpha every other day! That was the way of the world! Don’t like what the Head Alpha says, try and remove them from power!”

 

Sensing that Miguel was still holding back, the mariachi leaned forwards and rose an eyebrow, “Unless you’re scared? Unless you’re not a musician after all?”

 

“I-I-I don’t know!” Miguel whined, “I mean, I only really play for myself!”

 

“Pah! Did De la Cruz become the world’s greatest musician by hiding his sweet, sweet skills? NO! He walked out onto that plaza and he played out loud!” He then gestured towards the band-stand, “Mira! Mira! They’re setting up for tonight! The music competition for Día de Muertos…. If you wanna be like your hero, you should sign up!”

 

Miguel hesitated for a brief moment, before shaking his head. “No way, my family would freak!”

 

“Look, if you’re too scared, then have fun making shoes!” 

 

At Miguel’s crestfallen look, the beta softened his tone, mindful of the fact that he was speaking to a child. “Look, what did De la Cruz always say?”

 

“Seize your moment?”

 

There was a brief pause as the mariachi glanced at his own guitar, before slowly handing it over. “Show me what you got muchacho. I’ll be your first audience.”

 

Miguel stared at the guitar in amazement, glancing between it and the Mariachi. Spurred on by the encouraging look the older beta gave him, he raised his hand to play the first chord.

 

“MIGUEL!”

 

Miguel yelped at the familiar Alpha growl, quickly handing the guitar back to the mariachi and spinning around, wincing at the sight of his Grandmother storming towards him.

 

“Abuelita!” 

 

“What are you doing here?!” 

 

“Ummm, I-I- “Miguel knew he was panicking, trying to shove everything into his work bag before she could get any closer.

 

But it was too late.

 

With almost a feral growl, Abuelita Elena removed her sandal and struck the beta Mariachi across the face in one swift movement, “You leave my grandson alone!”

 

At the Alpha command, the beta shrank back, trying to appear smaller than what he actually was. “I-I was just getting a shoe shine!” He then yelped as Elena shoved the sandal against his nose, increasing the pressure ever so slightly until he was sure that his nose would simply shatter.

 

“I know your type mariachi!” she snarled, before turning her attention to Miguel, her tone changing instantly, “What did he say to you?”

 

“H-he was just showing me his guitar!”

 

The rest of the family who had followed their Alpha onto the plaza, all gasped in shock, with one of his uncles shaking his head in dismay. “Shame on you!” he shouted at the mariachi man.

 

The statement only seemed to infuriate Elena further, “My grandson, mi pequeño alfa, he wants no part of your music mariachi!”

 

Before Elena could strike him again, the beta scrambled backward, falling to the ground and racing away as fast as he could. 

 

“Mi pequeño alfa!” Elena cooed, putting her sandal back on and turning to Miguel, pulling him into a chest smothering hug, “¡Me vas a dar un pequeño ataque al corazón! You know better than to be here in this place!” Her tone then changed again, “You will come home at once!”

 

As she stormed away, closely followed by the other family members, Miguel found himself hesitating, thinking about what the mariachi man had said.

 

Would things really change if he challenged his Abuelita?

 

Ripping a poster from the nearby noticeboard, he raced to catch up with his family… just in time for a lecture.

 

“How many times have we told you not to go to that plaza!” His uncle growled, “It’s crawling with mariachis!”

 

“I know Tio Berto.”

 

Suddenly, Dante came rushing out of a nearby alleyway, jumping up at Miguel eagerly as the twelve-year-old tried to shoo him away.

 

“Hey!” Elena removed her sandal once again, striking out at the Xoloitzcuintli, chasing him into another alleyway.

 

“It’s just Dante!”

 

Throwing her sandal at the dog, smirking at the yelp Dante let out, Elena turned back to her grandson. “Never name street dogs! They’ll follow you forever…. Now go get my shoe.”

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

“I found your son in the mariachi plaza!” Elena announced as she ‘gently’ encouraged Miguel to sit down, directing the statement at Miguel’s beta father.

 

“Ah! Miguel!” Enrique threw his hands into the air in exasperation, preparing himself to give his son the scolding of a lifetime, before his heavily pregnant wife interrupted.

 

“You know how Abuelita Elena feels about the plaza…” she scolded softly, feeling a twinge of sympathy for her son. She had married into a family who hated music… she had once been exactly like Miguel.

 

“I was just shining shoes!” Miguel immediately protested, wincing as his Tio called out “A musicians’ shoes!” behind him and the entire family gasped in shock.

 

“The plaza is where the foot traffic is!”

 

His Papa frowned at him, “If Abuelita says no more plaza, then no more plaza!”

 

“But what about tonight?!”

 

“… What’s tonight?”

 

Miguel winced at his Abuelo Franco’s question, knowing that he had said too much and turned to his mother, knowing that she would be slightly more sympathetic. “Well… there’s this talent show, and I was thinking I might…”

 

“… sign up?” finished his mother, a fond smile on her face.

 

“Well… maybe?”

 

Rosa giggled at this, “You have to have talent to enter into a talent show!”

 

“Yeah!” agreed her brother, Abel, “What are you going to do, shine shoes?”

 

Before Miguel could whip out a cutting and witty reply (and he had one planned… mostly), his Abuelita walked up behind him and gripped his shoulder. “It’s Dia de Los Muertos, no-one’s going anywhere!” She shoved a bouquet of marigolds into his arms and frowned, “It is a time for family! Ofrenda room, vámonos!”

 

Miguel groaned, knowing what was in store as she dragged him out of the store and into the courtyard, only letting go of him to push her mother into the ofrenda room.

 

“Don’t give me that look…” she scolded, “… Dia de Los Muertos is the one time of the year, where our ancestors can come and visit us. We put their photos on the ofrenda so that their spirits can cross over…. That is very important. If we don’t put them up, then they can’t come.”

 

Much like every other time he’d been given this lecture, his thoughts turned to the torn photo at the top of the ofrenda, the face of his omega great, great grandfather missing from the memories of almost everyone… except for Mama Coco and even that was a bit shaky.

 

“We made all this food, set out all the things that they loved in life Nieto. All this work to bring the family together…. So, I don’t want you sneaking off to who knows where… and where do you think you’re going?!”

 

Halfway through the second part of the lecture, Miguel had tried to sneak out… silly really, his Abuelita had ears like a hawk.

 

“I-I thought we were done?”

 

“Oh, Dios mío!” she stormed over and grabbed his arm, dragging him back towards the ofrenda, “Being a part of this family, means being here for this family! You will be the family Alpha after I’m gone, which means you must stay here and lead this family! I don’t want to see you end up like- “

 

“- Mama Coco’s Papa?”

 

Elena slammed her hand on the ofrenda and glared at him, “Never mention that man! He’s better off forgotten!”

 

“But you’re the one who- “Miguel stopped in his tracks, taking a deep breath, “- what if we don’t know the whole story? What if something happened to him when he was touring with his music? What if he was attacked and left for dead? What if it wasn’t his fau-“

 

“- ENOUGH!”

 

Miguel startled back at her anger.

 

“If he was attacked, then it was his fault anyway!”

 

“Abuelita Elena!”

 

“Omegas shouldn’t go anywhere without their Alphas! It is disrespectful. It is amoral! No good omega would leave their Alpha, especially not with a child! Omegas stay with Alphas and that is that!”

 

Miguel knew he was shaking his head frantically. “You can’t say that!” he begged, “You don’t know what Mama Coco’s Papa was- “

 

“- Papa?” 

 

The pair quickly turned to Mama Coco in the corner, who had opened her eyes and was desperately looking around, “Is my Papa finally home?”

 

“No Mama…” Elena sighed sadly, “… you’re a little confused again.”

 

Shaking her head slowly, the cloud in Mama Coco’s head started to fade and she smiled at her daughter and great-grandson. “I’m sorry dear…” she sighed, turning her attention to Miguel and winking, “… It’s a good thing I’ve still got my looks, hmmm Miguel?”

 

Miguel smiled sadly, “Yes Mama Coco, you are still muy hermoso.”

 

“Rest Mama…” Abuelita Elena murmured gently, pulling the blanket further up in order to keep her mother warm, “… Miguel, I’m only hard on you because I care…. Miguel?”

 

But Miguel was already gone.


	3. The Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU 

Miguel flinched violently as there was a sudden beam of light shining directly at him, quickly shielding his trinkets from view and preparing to sprout as many excuses as he could…. Only to sigh in relief.

 

“Oh, it’s just you…” he sighed in relief, as Dante panted happily at him, “… come on! Get in here!”

 

After Dante had pulled himself inside, trotting over to Miguel and rubbing up against him, Miguel turned his attention back to the tattered and beaten up guitar.

 

“You’re going to get me into trouble boy…” he murmured, “… what if someone hears you… what if someone hears me?!” He then started to tune the guitar, “Actually, I kinda want someone to want to hear me… other than you.”

 

Dante was just happy Miguel was talking to him, bounding over and licking the kid all over his face until he was pushed away.

 

“You’re disgusting!” Miguel groaned, a big grin on his face as he strummed the guitar, “Perfecto! Listen to that Dante! Perfectly in tune!”

 

Fully prepared, he crawled further into his sanctuary where his personal ofrenda to Ernesto de la Cruz lay, complete with an old tv that contained a home-made videos of Ernesto’s best bits.

 

This was the one time Miguel felt truly at peace.

 

Closing his eyes, he strummed along to the music on the video, only opening them in order to check his finger positioning. Ernesto’s quotes about music and living life to the fullest echoed through his head.

 

Once the musical segment to the video was over, there was a short, interesting interview taken when Ernesto de la Cruz was at his peak.

 

“Senor De la Cruz, what did it take for you to seize your moment?”

 

Miguel had watched this interview dozens and dozens of times, and he’d only recently noticed the sad look flash across De la Cruz’s face after hearing that question, before the older Alpha smiled.

 

“I had to have faith in my dream, no-one was going to hand it to me after all. It was up to me, to reach for that dream, grab it tight and make it come true.”

 

Now, Miguel could have stopped it there… but the next question was interesting as well.

 

“You’ve been in the public eye for so long, and everyone is wondering one thing… is there any chance of seeing you happily bonded with a lovely omega any time soon?”

 

There it was again… the sad look.

 

“I’m afraid there was only ever one omega for me…” Ernesto De la Cruz eventually said, “… unfortunately, they are long gone from this world.”

 

The video then went fuzzy and static appeared on the screen.

 

“No more hiding Dante…” Miguel whispered, his gaze turning to a poster advertising the talent competition, “… I need to seize my moment! I’m going to play in mariachi plaza if it kills me!”

 

Ignoring how the celebrations happening outside, Miguel clambered onto the rooftops with his guitar and headed towards the main street, sliding down some wood and preparing to run towards the plaza.

 

“Mama! Where do you want this table?!”

 

Miguel winced as his Dad emerged from the alleyway that was around the side of the house, pulling his guitar closely.

 

“In the courtyard!”

 

Oh God… his Abuelita was standing right there, thankfully with her back to him.

 

“You want it near the kitchen?”

 

“Si! Near the other one!”

 

As his family started to head back into the courtyard, Miguel raced into the ofrenda room, where Mama Coco was sitting.

 

“Miguel?” the old woman frowned, eyes widening slightly as she watched Miguel shove his guitar and Dante under the ofrenda, “What’s going- “

 

“- Miguel?”

 

“Nothing!” Miguel blurted out, spinning around to face his Abuelita Elena, Papa and Mama, “Papa, Mama, I- “

 

“- Miguel.” His Papa interrupted, “Your Abuelita had the most wonderful idea! We’ve all decided, it’s time you joined us in the workshop!”

 

A leather apron was shoved over Miguel’s head, stunning him into silence for a few moments.

 

This wasn’t what he wanted.

 

“What?!”

 

“No more shining shoes!” His Papa continued as though Miguel had never spoken, “You will be making them! Every day after school!”

 

“Oh, my little corazoncito!” His Abuelita Elena clearly could not have been more thrilled, pulling Miguel into a hug as Miguel tried to make himself heard, “Carrying on the family tradition! And on Día de los Muertos!”

 

Once again, before Miguel could truly protest, he was pulled into another hug as his Abuelita started to coo about how “pretty omegas love hard-working alphas” and how his “ancestors will be so proud!”

 

Well… at least his Mama looked sympathetic.

 

“You’ll craft chancletas like your Tia Victoria!” His Abuelita continued.

 

“And Wingtips like your Papa Julio!” His Papa was just as thrilled.

 

What if this insanity was contagious?!

 

“But, what if I’m no good at making shoes!” Miguel eventually managed to blurt out, prying himself away from his Abuelita’s hugs.

 

His Papa rolled his eyes. “Ai, Miguel! You have your family here to guide you! You are a Rivera, and a Rivera is?”

 

“… A shoemaker… through and through.”

 

“That’s my boy!” His Papa pulled him into a hug, before rushing out of the room and calling out for one of his brothers to break out the good wine. His Mama gave him another sympathetic smile, ruffling his hair before following her husband out.

 

After his Abuelita gave him a few kisses on the cheek, Miguel was finally alone… aside from Mama Coco of course… who’d fallen back to sleep.

 

And then he heard something rattle on the ofrenda.

 

Quickly, he spun around and groaned at the sight of Dante eating from the ofrenda.

 

“Dante!”

 

Dante paused for a brief moment, a guilty look on his face…. before he continued.

 

“Dante! No!”

 

He raced over and tried to drag Dante away, growling as the dog stubbornly clung on, long tongue getting as much as he could. The pictures and offerings rattled dangerously until finally, the top photo containing the torn photo of Mama Coco and her parents fell to the ground, shattering the glass and frame.

 

“Oh, no, no, no, no!” Miguel groaned, gently removing the picture from the shards, “Oh, please no!”

 

As he desperately trying to think of how he was going to tell his Abuelita about the incident, the photo unfolded and the breath all seemed to leave his body in one rush.

 

“The guitar…” he whispered, “… Ernesto de la Cruz’s guiter…. But- “

 

“Papa?”

 

Spinning around, Miguel realised that his Mama Coco had woken back up and was pointing to the photo in confusion.

 

“Papa!”

 

“Mama Coco…” Miguel lowly made his way over, hoping that she would wake up fully quickly, “… Your Papa was an omega, right? Did he know Ernesto de la Cruz? Why does he have an Alpha’s guitar?”

 

Mama Coco gently ran her fingers over the man in the photo, “Papa was a musician…” she whispered, still slightly confused, “… he loved that guitar.”

 

“But… that’s De La Cruz’s guitar? Are you saying your Papa gave it to De La Cruz? Were they friends or- “ Miguel stopped in his tracks, “… or maybe they were something more?”

 

Ignoring Mama Coco’s confused “Miguel?”, he raced out of the ofrenda room and towards his secret hide-out, instantly reaching out for an album cover that had Ernesto with his guitar on it.

 

Yes…. The guitars were the same.

 

His great, great grandfather knew Ernesto de la Cruz!

 

As he sat in that tiny room, hundreds of theories ran through his head.

 

What if Mama Coco’s Papa left his Alpha and child because of Ernesto… they would have been in the town together at around the same time, what if the omega couldn’t resist the Alpha’s lure and left with Ernesto to play music?

 

It would explain why no-one mentioned his name anymore?

 

Nobody would want to talk about the shame of having a mated omega run out with another Alpha… it would have been easier saying that he simply left home for a musical career.

 

Less shameful that way.

 

Miguel couldn’t help but laugh in joy at the realisation… his great, great grandpa knew the greatest musician in Mexico, and possibly something more.

 

It was a sign, he just knew it was.

 

Grabbing his guitar, Miguel raced out onto the rooftop and whooped in glee, “Mama! Papa! Great, great grandpapa knew Ernesto de la Cruz! He knew him!

 

“Miguel! Get down from there!” His Mama called out in alarm, clearly not noticing or caring that he had a guitar in his hands… she just wanted him to be safe.

 

“Mama Coco’s father knew Ernesto de la Cruz! He even gave him his guitar!”

 

His Papa frowned, “What are you talking about?!”

 

Wrenching the leather apron off, Miguel couldn’t contain his excitement. “It’s a sign Papa! I’m going to be a musician!”


	4. Challenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU 

Miguel winced as everything Ernesto de la Cruz related, he’d ever collected was thrown onto the ground in front of him.

 

“What is this?!” His Abuelita Elena growled, “You’re keeping secrets from your own family now?!”

 

“It’s all that time he spends in the plaza!” His Tio Berto frowned in disappointment.

 

Tia Gloria nodded in agreement, “It’s filling his head with these crazy fanta-” 

 

“- It’s not a fantasy!” Miguel snarled, cutting his Tia off angrily, “Mama Coco’s Papa had this guitar, which Ernesto de a Cruz used throughout his entire career! They knew each other, they must have done! Otherwise Mama Coco’s Papa wouldn’t have given him his guitar!”

 

“He still abandoned his family Miguel!” His Papa sighed wearily, “He was a bad man, and an even worst omega! A flighty musician who decided an Alpha musician was better than his family! That is no future for my son!”

 

“B-But Papa! You said that my family would guide me! I’ve been ignoring it for years, but my family, my great, great grandfather was a musician! That’s what I’m meant to be!”

 

“Never!” His Abuelita shook her head desperately, “That whore’s music was a curse!”

 

“Mama!” “Abuelita!”

 

She ignored their protests, “I will not allow it!”

 

“I don’t need you to allow it, I just- “

 

“- Miguel.” His Mama interrupted in a warning tone, not liking how his tone had changed.

 

His Papa nodded in agreement, “Enough of this! You will listen to your family! No. More. Music!”

 

“J-just listen to me play!” Miguel begged desperately, bending down and picking the guitar off the ground.

 

“- End of conversation!”

 

Miguel gritted his teeth and glared at the older beta, strumming a few chords on the beaten-up guitar until it was snatched from his hands by his Abuelita.

 

“Enough!” she begged, “Do you want to end up like that man?! Forgotten and left off your family’s ofrenda?!”

 

He felt like his blood was going to boil…. Nobody had idea what had happened to his great, great grandfather, and it was their choice to keep the omega off the ofrenda.

 

The mariachi’s words echoed in his mind.

 

“Don’t like what the Head Alpha says, try and remove them from power!”

 

An Alpha growl bubbling up from his throat, Miguel sneered at his Abuelita. “I don’t care if I’m on some stupid ofrenda!”

 

The entire family gasped at this, worried looks flashing across the betas faces as Abuelita visibly tensed up, glancing between Miguel and the guitar in her hands… before raising it up into the air with intent.

 

“No!” “Mama!”

 

With three solid strike, Elena smashed the guitar against the ground, shattering it into pieces and sending shards of wood flying in every direction. “There!” She exclaimed, making the sign of the cross, “No more guitar. No more music.”

 

Miguel felt like his heart had been ripped from his body, his fists clenching as a growl started to bubble up from his chest.

 

“Oh come…” His Abuelita seemed to completely disregard the warning signs, placing a hand on Miguel’s cheek, “… you’ll feel better after you eat with your family.”

 

“NO!”

 

Miguel slapped her hand away and growled…. But it wasn’t a normal sounding growl, one that he usually gave… this sounded feral, almost challenging.

 

In fact, it was challenging… and everyone there knew it.

 

It was only confirmed when Miguel darted forward, letting out another growl in an attempt to make his Abuelita step back, to make her submit to him. 

 

She did, but it was only in shock.

 

Within seconds, a feral growl was making its’ way out of her own throat, echoing throughout the entire courtyard.

 

“Mama, please!” Miguel’s Papa tried to beg, only to take several steps back when she turned the growl on him.

 

The entire family took a step back.

 

Satisfied that they weren’t going to be interrupted, Abuelita turned her attention back to Miguel, hunkering down slightly as she prepared to pounce on the intruding Alpha…. She was too far gone to realise it was her grandson… until it was too late.

 

Just as she dived forward, preparing to slam the intruder to the ground, she came back to her senses… but it was too late.

 

As she tried to backtrack on what she was doing, she attempted to stop… one of her hands kept going though.

 

CRACK

 

Miguel yelped as his Abuelita’s hand connected harshly with his cheek, sending him flying to the ground in shock.

 

The Head Alpha had won… and there was only one outcome for Miguel.

 

The weaker Alpha had to leave the family.

 

“Miguel, I- “ Elena stopped when Miguel took a step back from here in slight fear, narrowing his eyes before snatching the photo back off of his Papa.

 

“I never wanted to be a part of this stupid family anyway!”

 

Before anyone could say anything or try and stop him, Miguel raced past them, heading out of the courtyard and straight towards mariachi plaza, ignoring how his family… sorry, ex-family… called out after him.

 

When he made it to the plaza, he headed straight for the stage, where a young lady stood with a clipboard. “I-I want to play in the plaza!” he announced, “Like De La Cruz! Can I-I still sign up?!”

 

“You got an instrument?”

 

“N-no…” Miguel could see his Abuelita smashing his guitar to the ground, “… But If I could borrow a guitar?”

 

“Musicians gotta bring their own instruments…” the beta gave him an apologetic smile, “… look kid, if you can find yourself a guitar, then I’ll put you on the list, okay?”

 

From there on, Miguel raced from performer to performer, desperately begging to borrow a guitar for just one performance.

 

Nobody seemed to care.

 

Some refusals were kind, some were dismissive… and some simply told him to get lost.

 

Feeling more and more dismayed, his cheek still stinging slightly from the slap his Abuelita gave him, Miguel found himself standing just opposite the statue of Ernesto de la Cruz, tears building up in his eyes once again.

 

“What am I supposed to do…” he sobbed bitterly, “… How can I be a musician if nobody will give me the chance?!”

 

Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes wearily, Miguel’s eyes suddenly caught sight of the plaque that was just underneath the statue.

 

‘Seize Your Moment.’

 

Glancing back at the photo in his hands, Miguel couldn’t help but think about his great, great grandfather once again… did Ernesto de la Cruz used to say that to his ancestor?

 

Was he saying it to Miguel right now?

 

With a determined grin on his face, Miguel raced towards the local cemetery, where Ernesto de la Cruz’s tomb sat. Slowly, and trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible as he walked towards the large mausoleum.

 

And then there was a loud barking. 

 

“Dante!” He scolded, trying to push the dog away, “Dante, sssshhhh!”

 

Thinking quickly, he darted to an unoccupied tomb, with a little shrine that had a plate of food on it. Grabbing a chicken leg, he threw it off into the distance, distracting the dog long enough for him to sneak to a nearby window.

 

Inside, he could see the tomb of Ernesto, that had a picture hung over the top… along with the guitar. When he pushed at the window, it was clear that it was locked.

 

“Sorry…” he whispered, watching as a firework shot up into the sky, waiting until the BANG, before he broke the lock of the window, swiftly jumping inside before anyone noticed, the metal lock clanking against the marble floor.

 

Quietly, he crept over to the guitar, climbing onto the tomb (and wincing when the stone lid shifted slightly), and gently brushing the dust away, revealing his own reflection.

 

“S-senor De La Cruz…” he cautiously began, glancing up at the portrait of the musician “… please don’t be mad. I’m M-Miguel? I-I think you knew my great, great grandfather?” He slowly removed the guitar, missing how the marigold petals seemed to shimmer, “I just need to borrow this for a while… my family thinks music is a curse, because of everything that happened with Mama Coco’s Papa. None of them understand, but I know you would have… you and great, great grandfather! It’s like you said, I just need to seize my moment! So, if it’s alright with you, I’m going to play in the plaza… just like you!”

 

He raised his hand into the air and strummed the guitar as loud as he could, completely lost in the moment as the marigold petals swirled all around him.

 

And then torches shined in through the window.

 

“Ernesto de la Cruz’s guitar!” someone cried out, “It’s gone!”

 

“It’s been stolen!”

 

Miguel immediately started to panic, ducking down and hiding, trying to shield his face from view as the light of the torches passed right over him.

 

But no-one seemed to react at the sight of him.

 

The panic of the crowd had instantly attracted one of the security guards, who made his way inside, shining his own torch around. “Alright!” he growled, “Who’s in there?!”

 

“I-It’s not what it looks like!” Miguel exclaimed, placing the guitar on the ground and holding his hands up, “Ernesto de la Cruz knew- “

 

He stopped in his tracks as the security guard walked right through him, spinning around in shock as the guard simply picked the guitar off the ground and reporting that “Nobody is here!”

 

Miguel panicked. 

 

His breaths were short and shaky as he raced out of the tomb, moving to one side as a crowd started to make their way inside. However, when he tried to grab one of them, his hand passed right through them… and then another person walked straight through him.

 

And then another one.

 

And another one.

 

It was like he wasn’t even there.

 

“Miguel!” he heard his Mama call out, prompting him to spin around.

 

“Mama!”

 

“Miguel!” His Papa called out, “Come home! Where are you?!”

 

When he tried to run over and hug them, he passed right through them, stumbling forwards and falling right into an open grave.

 

“Dios mio!” cried out a woman, a shadow appearing above the grave as she reached out her hand, “Little boy, are you okay?! Here, let me help you!”

 

Miguel sighed in relief…. Finally, someone could see him.

 

Reaching out for the hand, Miguel was pulled up out of the grave. “Thanks, I- “

 

And then he looked up.

 

“AAAAHHHHHHH!” he screamed, taking a step back at the sight of the skeleton, who also started to scream.

 

He backed into another skeleton…. And then another one…. And then another one.

 

With the last one, the head came right off, landing directly into his hands and frowning up at him. “Do you mind?!”

 

“Ah!”

 

“AH!”

 

Miguel threw the head back to the body, spinning around in alarm and fear as the skeletons slowly started to surround him. It was like one of those horror movies he definitely didn’t watch when nobody was home.

 

Freaking out, he pushed past several of them, racing further into the cemetery and hiding behind a grave. Almost every inch of him was shaking in fear, his teeth chattering together as he peeked out from around the grave and watched as the skeletons talked eagerly with one another, their attentions on the living people.

 

He slapped himself across the face. “Wake up!” he muttered desperately to himself, “Wake up!”

 

Suddenly, there was a tongue licking across his cheeks, almost scaring him out of his skin.

 

“Dante!” he yelped, frowning as the dog bounced eagerly all around him, “You can see me boy?”

 

Dante simply licked him again, before shooting off into the distance.

 

“Dante!” Miguel chased after him, weaving around the graves, “Dante! Where are you going?!”

 

He was so focused on the dog, that he completely missed the small skeleton wandering into his path… or rather, he didn’t miss.

 

With a yelp of shock, bones scattered every where and Miguel winced in sympathy.

 

“Sorry! Sorry!” he apologised profusely, trying to collect all of the bones together.

 

“Miguel?”


	5. Land of the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU 

“Miguel?”

 

Two skeletal women spun around at this, confusion on their faces.

 

“Miguel?” Miguel?”

 

Suddenly, all the bones quivered and moved over to the skull, quickly forming into a familiar looking man. “You’re here!” the man exclaimed, “Here, here? And you can see us?!”

 

The larger of the two women charged forwards, knocking into the man and causing his bones to fly everywhere again as she pulled Miguel in a spine-cracking hug, cooing into his ear.

 

“Remind me how I know you?” he winced.

 

“We’re your family mijo!” the woman beamed at him, finally letting free…. Which was good because he was starting to run out of air.

 

And then he knew why they all looked so familiar.

 

“Tia Rosita?” he asked, realising that she looked exactly like his omega Great Aunt.

 

He then looked at the other two.

 

“Papa Julio?” Mama Coco’s beta husband.

 

“Hola!” waved the small man.

 

“Tia Victoria?” His Abuelita Elena’s beta sister.

 

His great aunt leaned in and poked him on the cheek, “He doesn’t seem entirely dead?”

 

As a living girl ran through Miguel, Tia Rosita winced, “He’s not exactly… alive either.”

 

“We need Mama Imelda!” Papa Julio groaned wearily, “She’ll know how to fix this!”

 

Suddenly, someone cried out in alarm and two twin skeletons rushed over. 

 

“It’s Mama Imelda!” One of them announced.

 

“She couldn’t cross over!” the other one finished.

 

“She’s stuck!”

 

“On the other side!”

 

Miguel stared at the two for a short time, before his eyes widened in realisation, “Tio Oscar? Tio Felipe?” Mama Imelda’s twin, beta brothers.

 

“Oh, hi Miguel!” they both greeted in unison, before gasping in shock and realisation, their eyes wide as they stared at the young boy.

 

Victoria glanced between them, before sighing wearily and glaring at Miguel. “I have a feeling this has something to do with you.” She scolded.

 

“But… if Mama Imelda can’t come to us- “

 

“- Then we’ll have to go to her!” Papa Julio interrupted his sister, grabbing Miguel’s hand and dragging him away, heading towards the edge of the cemetery… where a giant bridge stood, glowing bright orange as marigold petals seemed to reflect the moonlight up above.

 

Just before his Papa Julio could pull him onto the bridge, Miguel pulled his hand away and took a couple of steps back.

 

“Come on Miguel…” His Papa Julio smiled in understanding, “…. It’s alright.”

 

Slowly, Miguel walked forwards, watching his feet in curiosity as the marigolds glowed with each step. Bending down, he scooped up a handful, throwing it into the air in amazement.

 

And then he spotted Dante racing away in the distance, barking eagerly as though he wanted Miguel to follow him.

 

“Dante! Dante! Wait up!” 

 

Once the dog came to a stop, rolling around in the petal, Miguel fell to his knees beside him. “You gotta stay with me boy!” he exclaimed, “We don’t know where… we- “

 

He stopped, his eyes growing wide in amazement as he stared off into the distance.

 

It was a stunning sight.

 

House, upon towns, upon cities all spiralling up on top of each other, bright lights creating a sense of mystery. On either side of him, there were numerous bridges made of marigold petals…. It seemed like there must have been one for every city in Mexico.

 

“This isn’t a dream….” he muttered in amazement, a grin slowly appearing on his face, “… this isn’t a dream. You’re all really out there!”

 

“You thought we weren’t?”

 

Miguel glanced back at Tia Victoria, before shrugging. “I thought it was just one of those made-up things that adults tell kids… like vitamins.”

 

“Miguel… vitamins are a real thing.”

 

“Yeah, well now I’m thinking they really could be!”

 

As a mother and daughter (and it was so depressing to see a child skeleton) gasped in fear and shock at the sight of him, Miguel pulled his hoodie over his head, trying to hide his normal, alive face from view.

 

Up above, colourful creatures swirled and dipped, their shapes reminding Miguel of-

 

“Are those… Alebrijes?!” he cried out in amazement, “But these are- “

 

“- real Alebrijes.” His Tio Oscar interrupted, “Spirit creatures!”

 

“They guide souls on their journey!” His Tia Rosita explained.

 

“Watch your step though…” Tio Felipe batted one away, “… they leave la caca’s everywhere!”

 

Over a speaker system, a female voice could be clearly heard as they reached the end of the bridge, heading towards something that looked remarkable like border control. “Welcome back to the Land of the Dead, please have all offerings ready for re-entry.”

 

There was a large queue which the family joined, as Miguel gazed around in curiosity.

 

“If you are experiencing travel issues, agents at the department of Family Reunions are available to assist you.”

 

Turning his attention to the Departure gates, Miguel watched as a couple posed for a photo, the machine dinging as their ofrenda photos appeared on the computer screen and a female officer waved them through.

 

“And remember to return before sunrise! Enjoy your visit!”

 

A few more people went through the machine, before another officer made his way forward, escorting a tall, skinny man as he went.

 

“Again?” he heard the female officer exclaim, albeit gently, “We do this every year.”

 

“And every year, there’s a chance someone remembered him…” the male officer explained, glancing over at the skinny man, “… just… try again.”

 

The skinny man was pulled forwards, until he was looking vacantly into the camera, only for there to be a loud, negative sounding beep followed by the female officer shaking her head sadly. “Sorry…” she whispered, “… not this year.”

 

The male officer nodded in understanding, before forcing a smile onto his face and tugging the other skeleton away… it was then that Miguel saw something glowing on the skinny man’s neck… a bite mark.

 

He was a claimed omega… a claimed omega with no photo on any ofrenda.

 

Miguel couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him.

 

Before he could dwell on it any further, Tia Rosita grabbed his arm and pulled him away, exclaiming that it was their turn.

 

“Welcome back amigos!” the duty officer greeted eagerly, “Anything to declare?”

 

“A-as a matter of fact…. Yes.” Papa Julio nervously answered, moving to one side as Miguel was pushed forwards, his non-skeleton face on complete display.

 

“H-Hola!”

 

The duty officer’s jaw dropped right off in shock.

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

Needless to say, the small family were rushed into the large building behind the gates. 

 

Everyone seemed shocked to see Miguel, skulls spinning around on their necks.

 

As they travelled up a flight of stairs, Tio Oscar leaned down and peered at Miguel’s face, only to sigh wearily, “I miss my nose.”

 

As they entered the Department of Family Reunions, they could several raised voices, frustrations growing high.

 

“Help us out amigo! We’ve got over a dozen ofrendas to visit tonight!”

 

“We are not visiting your ex-wife’s family for Dia de los Muertos!”

 

“I demand to speak to the person in charge!”

 

At the last voice, everyone turned to see a woman in a purple dress slam her fist against the desk, startling the poor woman who was trying to help her.

 

“I-I’m sorry senora!” the woman begged, “But it says here that no-one put up your photo!”

 

The woman dressed in a purple dress shot to her feet, the char flying back in the force of her anger. “My family always, always puts my photo up on the ofrenda!” She bent down and removed one of her high-heeled boots, slamming it against the computer, “That devil box tells you NOTHING BUT LIES!”

 

As their group walked a little bit closer, Papa Julio nervously spoke up. “M-Mama Imelda?”

 

The computer was almost practically destroyed as the woman spun around to face the group, brandishing her shoe at a terrified Papa Julio.

 

“Oh, mi familia!” she put her shoe back on as though nothing happened, “They wouldn’t let me cross the bridge! Tell this woman and her devil box that my photo is on the ofrenda!”

 

“W-well…” Papa Julio tried to straighten up, slightly cowering in the face of the obvious Alpha’s glare, “…. W-we never actually made it to the ofrenda.”

 

“What?!”

 

“We ran into… well…. Ummm.” He and the rest of their group moved to one side, to reveal Miguel standing there.

 

When Miguel turned his attention back to the woman (having been looking around in curiosity at the many different skeletons of different shapes and sizes), he recognised her instantly from her old photo.

 

Mama Imelda… the Alpha who had set the rules for their entire family all those years ago.

 

“Miguel?!” she spat out in shock.

 

She sounded angry… so angry that even Miguel found himself cowering slightly. “M-Mama Imelda!”

 

“… What is going on?”

 

Before anyone could answer, the door to their right opened up and a small man stepped through. “Are you… the Rivera family?”


	6. The Curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU

“Well, you’re cursed.”

 

The entire Rivera family gasped in shock as Miguel shook his head in disbelief. “What?!”

 

“Día de los Muertos is a night to give to the dead, but you stole from the dead!”

 

“I wasn’t stealing the guitar! I- “

 

“- guitar?!” Mama Imelda interrupted, anger in her voice, “What- “

 

“- It was my great, great grandfather’s! He would have wanted me to have it! Even over Ernesto de la Cruz!”

 

“No! No! No!” Imelda growled, “We do not speak of that… musician! He is no longer a part of this family!”

 

“Oh, come on!” Miguel rolled his eyes, “No-one in this family even knows the real story behind him not coming back!”

 

“He left his family to be with another Alpha!”

 

“So why didn’t he come back with Ernesto!” Miguel argued, “Why didn’t no-one ever know about him?! And have you ever wondered why he left in the first place?!”

 

“He wanted to be a musician, play for the world, rather than being a true omega!”

 

“Probably because life with you, was completely unbearable!”

 

The entire Rivera family gasped in shock, with Imelda looking like she’d just been slapped as Miguel continued.

 

“I mean, we had an entire class on omega rights and I know that omegas couldn’t ask for a divorce back then. They were viewed as the weaker sex, who clearly didn’t know what they wanted, so even if their home life was crap, they had to grin and bear it!” Miguel knew he was starting to shout, but he needed to get his point across, “Maybe being left off the ofrenda and being seen as a bad omega was the better option!”

 

Silence.

 

Nobody seemed to know what to do.

 

“ACHOOOOO!”

 

Everyone jumped at the sudden sneeze, turning to the clerk, who was glaring at Dante, “Who’s alebrije is this?”

 

Pulling Dante away from the clerk’s food, Miguel frowned, “That’s just Dante.”

 

“He sure doesn’t look like an alebrije.” His Tia Rosita mused.

 

Tio Oscar and Tio Felipe nodded in agreement.

 

“He looks like an ordinary dog…”

 

“… or a sausage that was dropped in a barber’s shop.”

 

“Whatever he is, I am ACHOOOO! Terribly allergic.” The clerk adjusted the glasses on his nose as he glared at Dante.

 

“But… Dante doesn’t have any fur.”

 

“And I have no nose… yet here we are. ACHOOOOO!”

 

“That still doesn’t explain why I couldn’t cross over!”

 

Miguel winced as he heard Mama Imelda pacing angrily behind him. “Ah….” Slowly, he pulled Mama Imelda’s photo out of his pocket, “…. Sorry Mama Imelda.”

 

In a second, she was in his face, practically pinning him to the clerk’s desk. “YOU TOOK MY PHOTO OFF OF THE OFRENDA?!”

 

“It was an accident! It’s not like I did it on purpose!”

 

Imelda ignored him, turning her attention to the clerk. “How do we get him back?!”

 

Clearly petrified, the clerk nervously adjusted his glasses. “W-well, since it’s a family matter… the only way to end a family curse, is to get your family’s blessing.”

 

Miguel frowned, remembering the outcome of the fight he’d had with the Head Alpha… the fight that left him as the loser. “What if… what if you’re not technically a member of the family?”

 

“What?!” Almost everyone exclaimed at the same time, with Tia Rosita rushing forwards. “What do you mean Miguel?”

 

“I-I challenged the Head Alpha! I lost, and I know what happens after that! I don’t get to be in the family!”

 

Silence.

 

“Ah…” The clerk shook his head, “… well, the only way to see if you’re still a member of the Rivera family is to give this a try. If not, we’ll need to find another method before sunrise.”

 

“W-what happens after sunrise?”

 

“Miguel!” Papa Julio suddenly cried out from behind him, “Your hand!”

 

Slowly, Miguel raised his hands to his face… and noticed that his left index finger was now half-bone…. It was all too much for him.

 

The darkness rushed in, and he fell backwards in a dead faint.

 

“Miguel!” Bony arms quickly supported him, pushing him back into a seated position as Papa Julio shook him roughly, “Can’t have you fainting on us now nino!”

 

The shaking cleared some of the fog from his mind, and Miguel quickly straightened back up, flushing slightly in embarrassment.

 

Alphas were meant to be strong…. Not faint like a swooning omega in those old romance films.

 

As Papa Julio gazed at him in concern, the clerk had gotten out from behind his desk and was scanning the floor for something.

 

“Ah!” he gave Tia Rosita an apologetic smile, “May I just have one of these marigold petals?”

 

“Oh… Of course!”

 

He grabbed the petal and held it up, quickly handing it over to Mama Imelda, as she was the Head Alpha in the room. “Now, if this doesn’t light up, then you’ve been expelled from the family…” the clerk explained, “… but let’s not think about that.”

 

Turning his attention to Imelda, the clerk started instructing her on what to do. “Now, just look at the living and say his name….”

 

Imelda took a breath, anger still on her face. “Miguel.”

 

“… Nailed it. Now say, I give you my blessing….”

 

“I give you my blessing.”

 

The marigold petal started to glow brightly, and the clerk clapped his hands in excitement. “Excellent, that means that your living family still consider you one of them, which makes this whole situation easier to fix!”

 

Miguel couldn’t help but sigh in relief, a small smile appearing on his face as Mama Imelda continued.

 

“I give you my blessing, to go home… to put my photo back on the ofrenda… and to never play music again!”

 

Miguel took a step back, shaking his head in disbelief. “WHAT?!” He turned to the clerk, “She can’t do that!”

 

The Clerk winced, “Well… technically, she can add any condition that she wants.”

 

“… Fine.”

 

Mama Imelda looked immediately smug as the clerk gave her the last instruction, “Now, you hand the petal to Miguel.”

 

Taking the petal, a cloud of marigold petals swirled around him, and in a flash, he found himself back in Ernesto de la Cruz’s tomb. He patted himself and sighed in relief, noticing that his finger was back to normal.

 

Rushing to the window, he grinned at the sight outside…. Not a skeleton in sight.

 

Everything was back to normal…. And his Great Great Grandfather’s guitar had been placed back onto the wall.

 

“Mariachi plaza, here I come!” Miguel quietly whooped in glee, climbing back onto the tomb and grabbing the guitar, quickly making a run for it… only to run straight into the clerk’s desk.

 

Quickly, he spun around and smiled sheepishly at his deceased family… who immediately figured out what had happened.

 

“Two seconds, and you already break your promise!” Mama Imelda snarled angrily, charging forwards as Miguel tried to back away.

 

“This isn’t fair!” Miguel growled, pushing past the Alpha, “It’s my life, you’ve already had yours!”

 

Picking another marigold petal up off the ground, Miguel headed for the rest of his family. “Papa Julio, I ask for your blessing!”

 

Papa Julio shrank back, shielding his face from view, refusing to take the petal in the face of Imelda’s anger.

 

“Tia Rosita?”

 

Nope.

 

“Oscar?” Nope, “Felipe?” Nope.

 

“Tia Victoria.”

 

Nope.

 

“Don’t make this hard nino…” he heard Mama Imelda sigh wearily behind him, “… you go home my way, or no way.”

 

“You really hate music that much?!” Miguel snarled at her, “You’re willing to have me trapped here, just because of your paranoia?!”

 

“I will not let you go down the same path that he did!”

 

At that statement, Miguel paused, turning away from the other Alpha and pulling the photo out of his pocket, gently running his fingers over the guitar. “… the same path he did…. He’s family.”

 

“Listen to Mama Imelda.” Tia Victoria tried to reassure him.

 

“She’s only looking out for you!” Tio Oscar.

 

“Be reasonable!” Tia Rosita.

 

Miguel couldn’t listen to this anymore… he wasn’t going to be under Mama Imelda’s thumb like these lot. “L-lo siento…” he stammered, thinking quickly about how he was going to get away, “… I-I need to use the restroom! Be right back!”

 

Giving them a sheepish look, he made his way out of the door… and then made a run for it, completely missing how the clerk muttered, “Should we tell him there’s no restrooms in the Land of the Dead?”

 

Racing down the stairs, he dived into a small alcove, grabbing Dante so that the dog wouldn’t give away their position. Glancing up, he spotted his family already trying to find him… and the door was so far away.

 

Pulling his hood over his head and tightening it, Miguel causally strode towards the doors, muttering to himself as the announcement for a “missing living boy” came over the loudspeaker.

 

“If I want to be a musician, I need a musicians’ blessing…. Great great grandfather knew Ernesto… so there’s a chance that he’s with De La Cruz right now.”

 

Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder, spinning him around. “Hold on muchacho…” ordered a male officer, leaning in and yelping when he realised that Miguel was still living, hands fumbling for his radio, “…. I found him! I found the living boy!”

 

Unfortunately, as he was eagerly reporting his position, a crow of people walked past, separating the pair and shielding Miguel from view.

 

He ran for it.

 

Hiding behind a wall, Miguel watched as the officer moved away, speaking quickly into his radio, probably calling back-up or something. However, before he could head back to the doors, Dante suddenly bolted, heading straight for the open door that led into another sub-section of the building.

 

“Dante!” Miguel hissed angrily, rushing after him before grabbing a hold of him and pulling the dog close, “Don’t run away like that.”

 

“Are you seriously going to give him a room again?”

 

Glancing over the edge of a small dividing wall, peering through the window there, Miguel spotted the confused skeleton from earlier being helped into a chair, with one officer handing him a glass of water.

 

“Unless I can get a hold of his guardian, then yes, I’m giving him a room here.” The male officer seemed tired with the subject matter, having clearly argued about this before, “It’s just for one night, and then we’ll have enough people to give me the chance to take him home.”

 

“…. You know what the older men say?”

 

“I know…” the man sighed, “… but I don’t believe he was… I don’t believe he was one of those omegas. He has a mating bite, someone must have loved him once upon a time.”

 

At the mention of the mating bite, the omega’s hand went up to press on it. It was just a glowing mouth mark on his collarbone, but it clearly meant a lot to him, judging by the small smile on his face.

 

“You’ve got his file out again.”

 

The male officer nodded, “I had to have another look at it…. He came to the Land of the Dead with a badly cracked skull, stab marks on his ribs and a spotty memory, there’s no way it was an accident!” He then glanced back at the man, “There’s evidence he had a child, he’s got a mating bite on his collarbone… I can’t help but feel like it was a case of domestic abuse.”

 

“His Alpha killed him… and then wiped all traces of his Omega from his life?”

 

“It would explain the condition he showed up in… someone who died peacefully wouldn’t have had all those wounds.”

 

“… And it explains why he’s never had a photo on the ofrenda.” The other officer was clearly starting to follow the line of thinking, “…. You mentioned that he was better when he first came to the Land of the Dead.”

 

“Yeah… his memory was spotty, and he had trouble remembering the important details…. But he talked, he was never like this.”

 

“So… what changed.”

 

“It was about 1942 or 1943, something like that. One day, he was chattering eagerly to anyone who would listen, and the next his cracked skull turned into a broken skull and he was like this.”

 

“… A broken skull?”

 

The male officer got to his feet and gestured for the other to follow him, gently lifting up the omega’s hair, to reveal that a piece of the man’s skull was actually no longer there, with Miguel almost giving his position away as he gasped lowly in shock.

 

“I don’t know who did it…” the male officer muttered, “… but someone didn’t want this man possibly remembering anything and stole a part of him. It’s one of the worst crimes in the history of the Land of the Dead.”

 

Before the other officer could respond, there was an announcement over the speakers.

 

“ALL OFFICERS REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY REUNIONS. A LIVING CHILD IS MISSING, ALL OFFICERS REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY REUNIONS IMMEDIATELY.”

 

Gently encouraging the omega to lie down on an empty cell bed, the door left open, the two officers rushed off, completely missing Miguel as they went.

 

“This is going to be more difficult than what I thought Dante…” Miguel muttered, sighing wearily as he waited for a few moments, waiting for the coast to definitely clear, before moving to stand up.

 

And then he realised that the omega was standing right in front of him, staring down at him in curiousity.


	7. Blending IN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU 

“This is going to be more difficult than what I thought Dante…” Miguel muttered, sighing wearily as he waited for a few moments, waiting for the coast to definitely clear, before moving to stand up.

 

And then he realised that the omega was standing right in front of him, staring down at him in curiosity.

 

“Ummmm… hi!” Miguel squeaked, keeping a careful eye on the man as he knelt down in front of him, head tilted slightly to the side, “What are you- “

 

He stopped as the man slowly reached out, bony fingers poking Miguel gently in the cheek… and then the man quickly pulled away, a look of utter confusion on his face.

 

“Please don’t freak out…” Miguel begged, not knowing if his words were getting through to the older male, “… I need to find Ernesto de la Cruz and my great, great grandpa. Do you know how to get out of here without the police seeing?”

 

Why was he even asking this…. This man looked like he didn’t even know his own name.

 

And maybe he didn’t.

 

“Alright, maybe i can use you as a distraction…” Miguel decided, gently taking the man’s hand and pulling him towards the exit, “… if the police care for you so much, they might ignore me.”

 

Silence.

 

“I’m going to take this as an agreement.”

 

However, as soon as they left the police station, an Alpha roar could be heard over the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

 

“MIGUEL!”

 

“Run!” Miguel increased his speed, keeping a tight hold of the omega’s hand as they raced for the exit, pushing open the doors and rushing down the stairs, “Come on, we need to- where did you go?”

 

The hand was still in his, but the rest of the omega wasn’t. Frantically, Miguel glanced around, sighing in relief as he spotted the omega standing at the top of the stairs, slowly making his way towards Miguel as his detached hand quivered with the effort of trying to get back to the main body.

 

“Stay close!” Miguel ordered, “We need to get out of here!”

 

Despite getting out of the building, and no longer really needing the omega, Miguel kept a hold of the man’s hand and pulled him into the crowd, blending in with the people all around.

…………………………………………………………………………..

 

“He’s going to get himself killed!” Imelda growled as her and the rest of the family pushed their way out into the streets, unable to see where Miguel had gone, “I need my spirit guide, Pepita.”

 

A sharp whistle pierced through the night, and a large, winged feline swooped down from the rooftops high above.

 

“Who has the petal that Miguel touched?!”

 

Nervously, Papa Julio made his way over, quivering and quietly begging for Pepita to be a good girl, shaking as the alebrije huffed, sniffing at the petal. Pepita then turned her attention to the stairs, sniffing carefully at them before roaring and taking off into the sky.

 

She had the scent.

 

…………………………………………………..

 

“I don’t know why you even have this in your pocket… “ Miguel muttered as they sat under a large stone bridge, “… but- hey, keep the mirror still okay?”

 

He tried to keep his voice calm, not wanting to startle the omega, who had done nothing but stare at him since they decided to lay low.

 

“Okay… what do you think?”

 

Upon leaving the building, it became obvious to Miguel that he had to hide his skin somehow, he had to blend in with everyone else. When he mentioned this in passing, pots of makeup paint and a small mirror were shoved into his hand, and the omega was beaming at him.

 

And now he was finished…. Although, one of his ‘eye sockets’ did look a little bit wonky.

 

“Oh, come on…” he muttered, frowning when the mirror was lowered, and a skeletal hand was suddenly touching his cheeks, gently smoothing out the black outlines of his eye socket, before holding up the mirror again.

 

His makeup was now perfect.

 

“Ummmm…. Thank you.” Miguel muttered, handing the omega the pots, watching as the man quickly put them inside some well-stitched inside pockets, “So ummm…. What else do you have in there?”

 

The omega frowned in confusion for a brief second, before beaming and reaching back into his pocket, pulling out a slightly tattered looking photo of a man with the exact same smile. Gently, Miguel took it off him and examined it.

 

Clearly, it was of the omega man as he had once been in life. Messy black hair sat on top of a skinny face, the nose was long, and the ears were slightly bigger than normal… but his eyes were warm, and the smile was genuine. Judging by the clothing, it was probably taken in the early 1900’s. Peeking out of his collar, was a bitemark.

 

He looked so happy.

 

“Muy guapo…” Miguel muttered, slowly handing the photo back as he was filled with a new wave of sadness for the poor man.

 

He was carrying around a photo of himself, and yet no-one had put his photo on their ofrenda… it was just cruel.

 

The omega didn’t look worried though, putting the photo back in his pocket as his other arm reached up to where his glowing bite mark was, rubbing it softly.

 

It was obvious what the man was possibly thinking about.

 

“Yeah, that’s why you were chosen by your Alpha huh?” It was probably all omegas could think about in that time. Getting a good Alpha who could provide for them and their children, “Right, I need to find De la Cruz, so I guess this is- “ 

 

He stopped, getting to his feet… only for the omega to get to his feet as well, clearly intending to follow.

 

“No, no no!” Miguel tried to protest, “I need to find De la Cruz! I can’t look after you as well!”

 

The words were harsh, but the omega didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he grabbed Miguel’s hand and pulled the younger boy out from underneath the bridge, heading slowly out onto the main streets.

 

As they walked, Miguel couldn’t help but notice different things about the omega, how he was different from all of the other skeletons that were walking around.

 

How his bones looked slightly duller, with clear wounds that had tape hastily wrapped around them.

 

His limp that indicated a serious wound.

 

The fact that his clothing was tatty, and he wore no shoes at all.

 

It didn’t matter what this omega did in his life, he didn’t deserve any of this.

 

They received a lot of pitying looks as they continued to walk down the street, walking on and on until they over-looked a large courtyard, where a large stage was being put together.

 

“What’s that for?” he asked, before remembering who he was talking to, and turning to try and find someone else.

 

“Hello? Excuse me?”

 

But nobody seemed to be paying them any attention, too busy with their Day of the Dead celebrations to pay any heed to the child trying to ask for their help.

 

“Oh, come on!”

 

Leaning back against the wall, Miguel slid down to the ground and sighed wearily…. Seconds later, he felt the omega sit down next to him, before the older man placed a gentle, almost reassuring hand on his shoulder.

 

Glancing over, Miguel couldn’t help but return the smile that the man was giving him. “Thanks…. I know you probably don’t understand all this, but I need to find my Great, great grandfather before sunrise! Or that’s it! Life over!”

 

The omega did look slightly sympathetic, but that soon vanished when a rough voice could be heard over the buzz of the crowd.

 

“MARCO! MARCO!”

 

The omega turned his head towards the sound, the beaming grin appearing on his face once again as a short, frowning Alpha male pushed his way through the crowd, not caring who he ‘accidentally’ nudged along the way.

 

“MARCO!”

 

The man’s eyes landed on the omega, and his visibly relaxed.

 

“Where the hell have you been?” He stomped closer, “I had to deal with the police getting all worried over you! I told them you’d probably just wandered off and- “ he stopped, turning his attention to Miguel, “- who the hell are you?”

 

“M-Miguel Sir.”

 

“Hmmmmm….” The man narrowed his eyes in suspicion, “… you got any reason to be hanging around this omega boy?”

 

Miguel knew it must seem suspicious… why would a young Alpha hang out with an omega who wasn’t related to him, or even that well known to him? “I-I-I- “

 

“You’re not helping your case here kid.”

 

“I was hoping he could help me!” Miguel finally managed to blurt out, pushing himself to his feet and gesturing at the stage down below, “I was just wondering what that was for?”

 

The other Alpha didn’t even have to look, he just rolled his eyes. “Some new technology these poor schmucks are hoping to test on De la Cruz. Apparently, it’ll allow us to see his memories… like we don’t have to suffer enough with that stupid festival of his.”

 

Miguel frowned at the obvious dislike the other man had for his musical hero but pushed it to one side anyway. “Do you know where De la Cruz is now?”

 

“Why would you want- “

 

“- I think my great, great grandpa’s with him! I need to see him.”

 

There was a brief moment of silence, before the other Alpha sighed. “I know someone who might know…. But I gotta tell you kid, there ain’t nobody who’s especially close to that Alpha. I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

 

“I know he’s with him!” Miguel scowled, “He has to be!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” the man turned his back on Miguel, staying still as the omega moved to stand next to him, “… follow me kid. I know someone who might be able to help.”

 

Before Miguel could respond, the man was off, the omega following on behind.

 

“Hey, wait!” Miguel ran to catch up, “I know he’s called Marco, but what’s your name.”

 

The man scoffed, glancing at the oblivious omega, “His name probably ain’t Marco, it’s just nicer to call out a name rather that ‘omega’ or ‘boy’…. And the name’s Chicharrón.”

 

“Nice to meet you- “

 

“- you can call me Sir.”

 

“…. Oh.”


	8. Frida

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU 

“I know it’s not his name…” Miguel gasped as he tried to keep up with the omega and Chicharrón, “… but why do you call him Marco?”

 

“Ever played Marco Polo? That’s why.”

 

“But… he- “

 

“- Someday he’ll respond with Polo…” Chicharrón sighed wearily, “… I just might not be around to hear it.”

 

May not be around to hear it?

 

It was a confusing statement…. Miguel had heard his parents say it before, usually in reference to Mama Coco, and he she probably wouldn’t be around to meet the new baby.

 

But they were already in the Land of the Dead, Chicharrón was already dead!

 

Where else was there to go?

 

Before Miguel could ask any further questions, they arrived in an alleyway, just underneath a fire escape. 

 

“Bloody woman…. Never leaves it down…. Pain in the ass.”

 

As he muttered to himself, Chicharrón started picking pebbles up off the ground, before turning and throwing them at the window high above.

 

Miguel could only watch this in confusion, unsure as to how this place was going to help him find his great, great Grandpa.

 

After around five pebbles, the window finally opened and a beta woman, with reddish hair leaned out, instantly scowling at the sight of Chicharrón.

 

“Chicharrón!” the woman groaned, “Would it kill you to call ahead?!”

 

“Would it kill you to keep this fire escape down?” Chicharrón retorted, “How is the kid meant to get up when he moves here Ceci?!”

 

Miguel was confused for a moment, before he realised that Chicharrón was referring to the omega, not him.

 

A wave of sadness flickered across Ceci’s face, before she nodded and flicked a lever to her left, sending the steel ladder crashing down to the ground with a loud CLANG. Almost instantly, the omega was clambering up, climbing in through the window before Chicharrón’s foot could even touch the first step.

 

“Dammit…” the older Alpha muttered, “… damn kid always rushing off.”

 

As they climbed in through the window, stepping into the room (although Dante didn’t so much as step, as fall), Miguel held up his hand to greet Ceci properly… only to stop at the sight that met him.

 

The omega was practically bent in half, arms wrapped around Ceci and he hugged her warmly…. She looked a little bit uncomfortable with it but patted him on the head anyway and gave him a gentle smile. “Alright, alright….” She muttered, “…. It’s nice to see you too.”

 

As soon as the omega pulled away, she turned her attention to Chicharrón and frowned, “I really don’t have the time for this tonight!” she exclaimed, still keeping her voice low, “I have over ten dresses to finish before tonight’s big event! I can’t baby-sit- “

 

“- It ain’t for me Ceci.” Chicharrón grumbled, gesturing at Miguel in annoyance, “It’s for him.”

 

“Don’t tell me you’re adopting another one!”

 

Chicharrón scoffed (and Miguel honestly felt a little bit offended by that), “Nah, he’s looking for a relative of his. Says he might be hanging out with De la Cruz.”

 

“Ugh…” Ceci groaned, “… poor man.” She then glanced at Miguel, “No offense kid, but your relative has bad taste. There’s something about that man that gives me the creeps!”

 

“Tell me about it!”

 

As Chicharrón and Ceci chattered to one another, Miguel spotted Dante heading towards the door… and then he realised that the omega was gone.

 

He couldn’t understand the wave of panic that swept over him.

 

Of course, he’d heard about it happening to others, the urge to protect and keep an eye on strange omegas…. It was what led to about 80% of stalking cases. The last 20% was where the sickos were.

 

Miguel really didn’t want to focus on that though, all he could think of was the potential trouble the omega was walking into.

 

“Dante, find him.” He ordered the dog gently, following him as Dante sniffed his way along the ground, past several workers and artists… and god did he blush at the glimpse of the nude female omega who was posing for a sketch.

 

He probably wasn’t allowed to be in here, but he didn’t care about that… he needed to find the omega.

 

However, whilst he was distracted looking for the older man, there was a sudden commotion as a multi-coloured monkey leapt on top of Dante, prompting a mad chase all over the large space, several items being knocked to the ground in the chaos.

 

“Dante! Dante!” Miguel yelled, leaping forwards to try and catch the dog, watching as the monkey suddenly leapt onto a nearby table and then onto a woman, who was wearing colours almost as bright as the creature on her shoulder.

 

When she spun around, Miguel knew instantly who he was talking to.

 

Frida Kahlo.

 

“You!” She exclaimed in shock, “How did you get in here?!”

 

She might have been a beta, but she was an intimidating beta.

 

“I-I was just following my- “

 

“-Ooooh!” Frida suddenly interrupted, bending over to examine Dante more closely, “The mighty Xolo dog! Guider of wandering spirits… and whose spirit have you guided to me?”

 

When she turned her attention on Miguel, he couldn’t help but take a small step back… and wince at the sight of Dante trying to lick one of the most famous artists in the world. “I… don’t think he’s a spirit guide.”

 

“Ah, Ah, Ah…” Frida smirked at him, “… The alebrijes of this world take on many forms. They are as mysterious, as they are powerful.”

 

Miguel watched as the monkey proved all this, changing colour rapidly, before blue flames shot out of its’ mouth. It was certainly stunning, but Dante…. Dante was choking on his own foot.

 

“Or maybe he’s just a dog.” Frida conceded, before wrapping an arm around Miguel’s shoulder and pulling him towards a large, open space of the building, forcing him to sit on a nearby bench, “Come, come! I need your eyes! You are the audience!”

 

She clapped her hands together and the lights flickered off.

 

“Darkness…” she lit a match, illuminating all the patterns on her face, “… and then out of the darkness, a giant papaya!”

 

Yeah… it was definitely a giant papaya.

 

“Dancers emerge from the papaya, and the dancers are all me!”

 

Yes, they were… and it was very creepy.

 

“And they go to drink from their mother, who is a cactus… but who is also me!”

 

And that was even creepier.

 

“And the milk is not milk… but tears.” Frida turned to Miguel and winced, “Is it too obvious?”

 

“I… think it’s just the right amount of obvious?” Miguel forced out, not wanting to offend the famous artist, “It could do with some music though! What if you add a kind of… dum dum dum dum dum!”

 

Without taking her eyes off of Miguel, Frida snapped her fingers at the musicians in the corner, prompting them to play it immediately.

 

“Oh! And then it could go dadala dadala dadala dadala DADALA! With a trombone sound at the end!”

 

Once again, the musicians replicated the sounds.

 

“And…” a beaming grin took over Frida’s face, “… what if everything was on fire?! Yes! Fire, everywhere!” She gently placed a hand on Miguel’s face, encouraging him to look her in the eyes, “Inspired… you have the spirit of a true artist.”

 

As Miguel beamed at the praise, Frida then turned her attention back to the mock stage, “The dancers exit, the music fades, the lights go out and then Ernesto de la Cruz rises to the stage!”

 

As a shadowed figure started to rise up, Miguel leaned forwards in excitement… only for the lights to come back on, and the figure to be revealed as nothing but a doll made up of random objects.

 

“Huh?”

 

“He sings a couple of songs, there’s a quick break, and then the crowd watches how life was for him when he was first starting out.”

 

“E-excuse me?” Miguel cautiously piped out, “But where’s the real Ernesto de la Cruz?”

 

Frida rolled her eyes, “Ernesto de la Cruz doesn’t do rehearsals, even when he should. If he’s not prepared for some of the questions that they’re going to ask him, he’s putting his career at risk.” At Miguel’s confused look, she sighed, “Some new invention…. Someone in this world get interviewed and their memories appear on the screen, so that the audience can see what life was like for them. Everyone wants to see how life was for the most famous musician in all of Mexico.”

 

It did sound interesting, Miguel couldn’t deny that. “So… where is De la Cruz now?”

 

Frida sneered, gesturing towards the window. “Hosting one of his big-shot, fancy parties in his condo. A waste of time if you ask me.”

 

As he turned his attention to the window, Miguel’s eyes widened in amazement. In the distance, he could see a large building that was lit up like a Christmas tree, strobe lighting and everything. And if he listened very carefully, he could hear music.

 

And then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure, prompting him to turn his attention away from the shining tower.

 

“Hey!” Miguel beamed, rushing over to the omega, “Don’t run off like that! I was worried!” He then sighed wearily, “I guess Chicharrón was wrong… Ernesto de la Cruz isn’t here and neither is my great great grandfather.”

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

He wanted to soothe the little Alpha…. He looked so worried.

 

Maybe he was a bad omega… bad omegas don’t worry Alphas like that, especially not young ones.

 

“There you two are!”

 

Oh! Chicharrón’s here! Chicharrón always makes things better.

 

He watched as the small Alpha strode over to Chicharrón, “You said that Ernesto de la Cruz would be here!” he heard the child growl, “But he’s halfway across town throwing a party.”

 

He couldn’t help but stare out of the window at the obvious party, as Chicharrón mumbled something about “what bum doesn’t even show up to his own rehearsal?” and the small Alpha argued that he needed a blessing.

 

He would bless the little Alpha if he asked… but he never asked.

 

As Chicharrón and the little Alpha continued to argue, he started to hum a familiar song under his breath. 

 

‘Remember me… though I have to say goodbye…. Remember me’


	9. Everyone Knows Juanita

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright people, here is the promised Alpha/Omega Coco AU 

“A party…” Chicharrón grumbled, “… this is absolutely ridiculous.” 

 

Miguel remained firm, he needed the blessing from his great, great grandfather so he needed to see Ernesto de la Cruz, wherever he was.

 

“Fine, fine, fine…” Chicharrón turned to the musicians and stormed over to them, “…Hey, Gustavo! What do you know about this Cruz party?”

 

One of the violinists smirked at the Alpha, “It’s the hot ticket! But if you’re not on the list, then you’re never getting in…. bring Chorizo with you. Maybe you can use him to… persuade them to let you in.”

 

The other musicians cackled, even as Chicharrón growled and Miguel tilted his head in confusion.

 

“What are they- “he suddenly stopped, remembering what he’d overheard in the Police Station.

 

// “…. You know what the older men say?”

 

“I know… but I don’t believe he was… I don’t believe he was one of those omegas. He has a mating bite, someone must have loved him once upon a time.” \\\

 

One of those omegas.

 

“You could be famous with him Chicharrón!” the musician continued, “Everyone loves Chorizo!”

 

Miguel knew he was young…. But it was easy to guess what they were implying. Desperately trying to turn his thoughts away from the horrible thoughts, Miguel scanned the room for the omega, finding him near the window, staring out at the brightly lit buildings.

 

He was completely unaware of the conversation going on about him.

 

“Stop pissing about…” Chicharrón growled, pulling Miguel’s attention away from the omega, “… This is why I hate musicians, heads up their asses with no thought for anyone else but themselves!”

 

“Hey, I’m not like that!” Miguel protested, frowning when Chicharrón didn’t even look him in the eye and headed over to the omega, pulling him away from the window.

 

“Hey kid…” 

 

Miguel turned to the musician, who smirked at him.

 

“… If you really want to get into that party, there’s a music competition at the Plaza de la Cruz. The winner gets to play at his party.”

 

Miguel beamed at this news…. That was it! That’s how he was going to meet his great, great grandfather.

 

“Chicharrón! Chicharrón!” Miguel raced over to the other Alpha, excitement flooding through his veins already, “I need a guitar!”

 

“You cannot be serious!”

 

“If I can win that competition, then I can meet my great, great grandpa and get his blessing! I can actually be a musician!”

 

Before Chicharrón could protest again, the omega suddenly leaned forwards and tapped Miguel on the shoulder, moving away as though he expected Miguel to follow him.

 

“Ummm, what is he- “

 

“- he knows where you can get a guitar.” Chicharrón grumbled, grabbing Miguel’s sleeve and tugging him after the omega, “Damn brat.”

 

………………………………………………………………………………….

 

Pepita sniffed at the disturbed dust in the tunnels, frowning in confusion.

 

Why could she smell omega?

 

Why could she smell her mistress’s omega?

 

“Have you found him Pepita?!” she heard Imelda call out from behind her, “Have you found our boy?”

 

She had definitely found something.

 

Gently, she blew on the ground, illuminating bright blue footprints on the ground.

 

“A footprint!”

 

Julio leant in to examine it and beamed at what he saw. “It’s definitely a Rivera boot!”

 

“Size seven!” exclaimed Oscar.

 

“Seven and a half, brother.”

 

“Pronated.”

 

Imelda nodded in agreement with all of the observations. “Miguel.”

 

Another breath revealed a trail of footprints leading out of the tunnel.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

“I don’t understand why you even want to be a musician.” Chicharrón grumbled as he stomped down the rickety wooden steps (how he didn’t break them, Miguel would never know), “There’s nothing in it kid.”

 

“What do you mean there’s nothing in it! People love music, it can make them feel sad, happy, scared, it can make them fall in love with someone else!”

 

“Pah! The only thing it does is make musicians act like well-trained monkeys in front of brainwashed fans!”

 

Scowling at the back of the Alpha’s head, Miguel shoved his hands into his pockets, “Yeah well, what do you know… how far is it to this guitar anyway?!”

 

“Nearly the- KID NO!”

 

Chicharrón darted forwards as the omega suddenly dropped off the edge of the platform, landing with a crack as the other two peered over the edge.

 

“Damn brat! He never learns!” Chicharrón grumbled, watching as the omega swiftly put himself back together, before continuing on, “One day, he’ll lose a hand and that’ll be it!”

 

“Is that how he lost part of his skull?”

 

Chicharrón glanced at him, clearly confused as to how he knew that, but shook his head. “Nah…. One day he had it, cracked and all… and then he didn’t and was like…. Well, he’d changed.”

 

Quickly, they used the steps to follow the omega down, racing after him.

 

As they walked under a giant stone archway, covered in the art of skeletons with wings, Miguel focused on the run-down houses and the ill-constructed walkways.

 

In comparison to the rest of the Land of the Dead, this place was… hell.

 

“Marco! Marco!”

 

Turning his attention to a small group near a run-down house, Miguel watched as the omega scampered over to them eagerly, with Chicharrón following as quickly as he could.

 

“Walkway! Remember the walkway brat!”

 

Catching up, Miguel glanced around, listening as Chicharrón was referred to as Tio Chicharrón or Cousin Chicharrón. “These people are all your family?”

 

“No, we’re just the sad souls who don’t have any photos on the ofrendas… people who don’t have a family to go home to. The nearly forgotten.” Swiftly, Chicharrón dipped down and grabbed a bottle of alcohol before the omega could, as Miguel thought about what the Alpha could possibly mean by ‘nearly forgotten’.

 

“Marco! Marco!”

 

Seated around a table, playing cards with shot glasses by their side, three women cooed at the omega, gently ruffling his hair as he took a seat next to them, with Chicharrón making his way over with the bottle.

 

“Ladies…” he greeted them politely, pouring them several glasses of the alcohol, “… and just how are you finding this glorious Día de Muertos?”

 

Miguel had never seen him be so charming… or smile at all really.

 

After a few more moments of chatting… and quite a bit of drinking, Chicharrón moved away, pulling the omega with him as they continued on down the path until they reached a run-down bungalow. Inside, boxes upon boxes were piled on top of one another, there was a small bed in the corner, and a hammock near it, full of cans and empty bottles.

 

The omega immediately migrated towards the bed on the floor, eyes turning to the back of the bungalow that was left open, staring out to the sights of the main city.

 

“Home sweet home…” Chicharrón grumbled, “… try not to knock anything over brat. I’m sure most of these boxes are keeping this dump up.”

 

“Really?” Miguel glanced around in alarm, keeping his arms as close to his body as he possibly could, before turning his attention back to the omega… who looked like he was settling in to sleep, “So…. How long has he been leaving with you?”

 

Chicharrón was silent for a few moments, before sighing wearily, “Since he got like this… now, where did I put that guitar?”

 

Silently, the omega gestured at the hammock, where the neck of the guitar could be seen peeking out of the pile of cans and bottles.

 

“Ah!” Chicharrón went to grab the guitar, smirking at Miguel’s low whistle of appreciation.

 

“That’s a real nice guitar! Where did you get it?!”

 

“… I was on an ofrenda once you know… before everything. It was left as a tribute.” Chicharrón sighed wearily, “Now I couldn’t even play it if I wanted to…. I mostly listen to the kid.”

 

Miguel glanced back over at the omega, who was staring at the guitar intently. “He… he plays music?”

 

“Hmmm… he’s very good as well. Better than that De la Cruz kid.”

 

“…. He can’t be.”

 

Chicharrón smirked at the disbelief in Miguel’s voice, turning and handing the guitar to the omega, who practically snatched it away and started to strum the chords.

 

“C’mon kid, why don’t you play my favourite.”

 

Almost as soon as the request was complete, the omega changed the tune, fingers practically dancing over the strings.

 

Miguel found himself transfixed by the sight… and was even more stunned with what followed.

 

“Well, everyone knows Juanita…” the omega started to sing softly, his voice low and soothing, “… Her eyes each a different colour. Her teeth stick out and her chin goes in. And her… knuckles, they drag on the floor.”

 

“Those aren't the words kid!” Chicharrón immediately protested, frowning when the omega whined and glanced at Miguel, before turning his attention back to the music, “…. Children present… right. Damn omega instincts.”

 

It made Miguel curious as to what the original lyrics were meant to be.

 

“Her hair is like a briar… She stands in a bow-legged stance. And if I weren't so ugly, she'd possibly give me a chance.”

 

The song was over, and the omega fell silent once again, slowly allowing Chicharrón to take the guitar from him.

 

“So… he doesn’t talk, but he can sing?”

 

Chicharrón shrugged, “Yeah… don’t ask me how kid. It’s like he turns into a different person when he’s playing the guitar. It sort of tells me how he must have been before any of this happened to him.”

 

As a peaceful silence fell over them, Miguel nervously cleared his throat. “Ummm, what did you mean by the nearly forgotten?”

 

“… The Final Death.” Chicharrón whispered, “When there’s no one left in the living world who remembers you, then you disappear from this world… you’re forgotten.”

 

“So… w-where do you go?”

 

“No-one knows kid… but our stories have to be passed down from those who knew us when we were alive, they keep us here, they keep us healthy… Only with these stories, can we remain in the Land of the Dead.”

 

“Healthy?”

 

“Bones can be broken here as well… if you’re well-remembered, then you’ll heal.”

 

At this simple statement, Miguel found himself glancing at the bandages around Chicharrón’s legs… and then at the ones on the omega.

 

They were both on the course to being forgotten.

 

“I’ve not got long left…” Chicharrón confirmed wearily, “… another couple of years maybe. I don’t know who’s remembering Marco, but when they go, he’ll go to.”

 

Did the omega know that?

 

“Anyway…” Chicharrón slapped Miguel on the back, “… we should get going. You’ve got that stupid contest to win.”


	10. Un Poco Loco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning! This will have graphic violence, attempted rape, and major character deaths. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, then please don’t read it.  
> For those who have decided to continue on, please read, review and enjoy

“WHO’S READY FOR SOME MUSICA?!”

 

Miguel found his attention grabbed by the… curvy lady on the stage, bright blue hair styled straight up and a tight, sparkly pink dress on.

 

As she continued to explain what would be happening during this contest, Chicharrón cuffed him around the back of the head, dragging him to the backstage area.

 

“Don’t even think about it brat…” the Alpha muttered, “… She eats boys like you for breakfast.”

 

“I wasn’t thinking anything!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

 

As they got closer to the other practising musicians, the omega started to shrink in on himself, covering the space where his ears would be with his hands and whimpering to himself.

 

“Ummmm, Chicharrón? I think- “

 

“- I know, I know.” Taking the omega’s hand, Chicharrón pulled him over to a quieter corner, “Keep an eye on him, while I sign you up. Try and pick a song.”

 

“O-Okay.”

 

As Chicharrón headed towards the stage, Miguel eagerly started to pluck at the guitar strings, the familiar tune of ‘Remember Me’ echoing throughout the small area.

 

Along with the whimpering omega.

 

In fact, he seemed to be whimpering louder as Miguel practised.

 

It was then, that Miguel realised that almost every other performer in the area was performing the exact same song. In different ways, including using glass and opera… but it was the same song.

 

“Alright!” Chicharrón made his way back over to Miguel, “You win this, and you’ll get to perform in front of De La Cruz…. So what’s your- “He suddenly stopped, instantly recognising what Miguel was playing, “- oh no, no, no! Not that one!”

 

“Remember me is his greatest hit!”

 

“And everyone else is playing it!”

 

That was true.

 

“And Marco hates the song for some bizarre reason.”

 

That explained the whimpering.

 

“Alright… well how about Un Poco Loco?” Strumming a few notes, Miguel watched as the omega visibly brightened up, eyes wide and a small smile on his face, “You like this?”

 

Silence…. But the omega wasn’t whimpering anymore, so Miguel considered it a victory on his part.

 

“Alright… Un Poco Loco it is.”

 

As he continued to practice, his felt himself start to shake slightly.

 

“Hey kid…” Chicharrón frowned, “… you always this nervous before a performance?”

 

“Ummm, I don’t know… I’ve never really performed before.”

 

“Wha- you said you were a musician!”

 

“I am… or I will be. Once I win- “

 

“- Ah!” Chicharrón groaned, “Your fucking life depends on you meeting your Great, great Grandpa, and you’re relying on hope?!”

 

“Yes!” Miguel groaned, “Because I need to prove that I can be a good musician, prove to my great, great grandpa that I’m worthy of his blessing!”

 

“Such a sweet sentiment… AT SUCH A BAD TIME!” At Chicharrón’s growl, Miguel leaned back slightly… the omega leaned back even further, falling off the crate he was sitting on.

 

“Kid! You’re on standby!” A stage assistant called out to the trio, as a large brass band made their way onto the stage.

 

Ignoring how Chicharrón continued to grumble and groan under his breath, Miguel took several deep breaths, shaking his arms and legs in an attempt to loosen up.

 

“You know how to grito kid?”

 

“…. Grito?”

 

Chicharrón smirked, glancing over at the omega, who was listening really intently. “Hey Marco… you happy?”

 

Watching in amazement, Miguel gasped as the omega suddenly shot to his feet, letting out a joyful grito, head practically leaping off the neck bones.

 

“That is a grito… “Chicharrón stated smugly, “… now you try kid.”

 

Let’s just say… Miguel’s attempt could have made a kitten cry.

 

And then the assistant called them forwards.

 

“Well, this is going to be fun.”

 

Trying to ignore Chicharrón’s negativity, Miguel headed towards the stage, only to stop when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, prompting him to turn around as the omega’s arms wrapped around him.

 

It was nice… soothing.

 

Omegas tended to have that effect on others… something to do with pheromones if Miguel remembered correctly.

 

“Thanks…” he whispered into the taller man’s torn and tattered jacket, “… I think I needed that.”

 

The omega just smiled, backing away and waving at him as he walked onto the stage, filled with a little more confidence.

 

And then he saw just how many people were there.

 

Fear stopped him in his tracks, mouth gaping open slightly as he stared out at the crowd… and then shrank away from the microphone.

 

He knew Chicharrón was probably unimpressed… could practically feel the Alpha glaring at him.

 

“Bring back the last band!” someone called from the crowd, causing Miguel to glance back over to Chicharrón and the omega. Chicharrón was clearly unimpressed by the whole situation, but the omega… the omega was smiling at him, almost reassuringly.

 

He didn’t know what it was about the smile… but it somehow made him feel better.

 

Taking a deep breath, he let out the loudest grito that he could, a small smile appearing on his face as the crowd started to whoop and cheer.

 

From there on in, it felt like he was dreaming. His fingers brushed over the strings and the familiar tune prompted him to tap his feet on the wooden stage.

 

“What colour's the sky? ¡Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!

You tell me that it's red ¡Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!

 

Where should I put my shoes? ¡Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!

You say, "put them on your head! ¡Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!

 

You make me un poco loco

Un poquititito loco

The way you keep me guessing, I'm nodding and i'm yesing

I'll count it as a blessing, That I'm only un poco loco!”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Miguel spotted Dante tugging on the sleeve of the omega, dragging the skeleton onto the stage.

 

The omega didn’t even pause to be surprised. A delighted grin on his face, he started to tap his own feet on the stage, quickly picking up speed as he spun around and around on his pelvis.

 

“Go on…” Miguel whispered under his breath, “… you can sing the next verse.”

 

The omega opened his mouth… and begun.

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

“He’s close!” Imelda sighed in relief, as Pepita breathed on more footsteps, the glow seeming much brighter than it had before, “We need to find hi- “

 

And then she heard it.

 

A voice that she hadn’t heard in years.

 

“The loco that you make me

It is just un poco crazy

The sense that you're not making… “

 

It felt like a stab to the heart, her mind automatically flashing back to sunny days in the marketplace, watching a skinny omega dance his way through the streets, a beaming smile on his face and his fingers skimming nimbly over guitar strings.

 

The ways his cheeks would flush as Imelda waved at him.

 

The way her heart fluttered when he returned the wave.

 

“… Hector?”

 

………………………………………………………………………

 

“… the liberties you’re taking!”

 

“Leaves my cabeza shaking!

You're just un poco loco!”

 

As they danced around the stage, perfectly in pitch despite everything, Miguel watched the omega in awe.

 

‘Who was mad enough to deny him?’ 

 

‘Who was mad enough to remove him from the family and leave him alone?’

 

“Un poquititititititititititititito loco!”

 

As the song came to an end, and the pair bowed for the audience, Miguel spotted familiar figures out of the corner of his eyes.

 

Tio Felipe and Tio Oscar.

 

Tia Rosita and Tia Victoria.

 

Papa Julio talking to the woman in the pink dress.

 

Swiftly, he grabbed the omega’s hand and dragged him off the stage, pushing past Chicharrón in desperation.

 

“Hey! Where are you going kid?! You’re about to win this thing!”

 

“W-we need to get out of here!” Miguel stammered, hoping to pull them away before-

 

“- Quiet down!” The woman in the pink dress began into the microphone, “I have an emergency announcement to make. Everyone needs to be on the look out for a living boy, answers to the name Miguel!”

 

Chicharrón stopped in his tracks, glancing between the stage and a slightly nervous looking Miguel.

 

“Apparently he ran away from his family! They’re just trying to send him back to the Land of the Living!”

 

“It’s you isn’t it…” Chicharrón whispered, not looking Miguel in the eye, “… that’s why you want to see your great, great grandpa, so he’ll send you back…. You’ve been dragging us all around this godforsaken place, when you’ve got family RIGHT THERE!”

 

“They hate music! They would have tried to stop me from playing music forever!” Miguel desperately tried to explain, “I need a musician’s blessing!”

 

“You lied to us!”

 

“I never lied… I just didn’t tell you the whole truth.”

 

Chicharrón growled, grabbing Miguel’s wrist as he started to tug him towards the stage. “You’re going back to your family! It’s not worth losing your life over some worthless, musical fantasy!”

 

“LET GO OF ME!” As Miguel tugged his hand out of Chicharrón’s grasp, he ended up bumping into the omega, his anger so high that he couldn’t help but push him away, not even noticing the hurt look he got or the fact that the omega had stumbled back into the ground, “I’m not going back to that life! I can’t!”

 

And then he ran, ignoring how Chicharrón called out after him.

 

…………………………………………………………….

 

“Dammit…” Chicharrón muttered, quickly losing sight of Miguel, “… Dammit, dammit, dammit!”

 

Spinning around, he started to swear a little more colourfully.

 

“Marco?!” 

 

The omega was nowhere to be seen.

 

“MARCO!”


	11. Ernesto

Miguel stormed down the stone steps, eyes darting towards the De La Cruz tower.

 

He needed to get in there, no matter what.

 

As he headed in that direction, the wheels in his head whirring as he desperately thought up a plan as to how to get in, he heard a familiar whining and barking from behind him.

 

“Dante! Go away!”

 

Dante ignored him, biting at the Alpha’s jean cuffs in an attempt to get him to turn around.

 

“Dante, stop it! They can’t help me!”

 

This time, Dante managed to get Miguel’s hoodie sleeve, the sudden movement causing his hood to fall down.

 

“Dante! Get off me!” Miguel tugged his arm free of the sleeve, revealing the fleshy upper arm, “Leave me alone! You’re not a spirit guide! You’re just a DUMB DOG! Get away!”

 

Dante shrank back, hurt evident in his eyes as the Alpha shouted at him, before storming away, leaving him cowering in the streets.

 

“It’s him! It’s the living boy!”

 

Realising that people had spotted the fleshy part of his arm, Miguel quickly straightened his hoodie and rushing off, narrowly avoiding being hit by a train as he went down a level. However, as he raced off, a large, winged cat suddenly dropped down in front of him and roared, causing him to scream in fear and alarm.

 

“This nonsense ends now Miguel!” Mama Imelda yelled from on top of the guide, “I am giving you my blessing, and you are going home!”

 

“I don’t want your blessing!” Racing towards a narrow alleyway, which he knew the guide wouldn’t be able to get through, he pulled open a door and ran up the stairs.

 

“Miguel! STOP!”

 

The guide roared again.

 

“COME BACK! MIGUEL!”

 

Stumbling and racing up the stairs, Miguel snarled in anger as he ran into a locked gate, managing to slip his body through the bars easily… the guitar was another matter.

 

“I am trying to save your life!”

 

As he managed to pull the guitar through, he growled at the approaching Alpha. “You’re trying to ruin my life!”

 

“What?!”

 

Mama Imelda reached the bars, staring up at Miguel in shock as he continued to walk away.

 

“Music is the only thing that makes me happy!” Miguel desperately explained, “And you… you want to take that away! You’ll never understand!”

 

As he turned to walk away once again, something stopped him in his tracks… something haunting.

 

“Y aunque la vida me cuesta llorona  
No dejare de quererte”

 

Slowly, he turned back to Mama Imelda, frowning at the despondent look on her face. “I-I thought you hated music?”

 

“Oh…” She pressed a hand against her ribcage, over where he heart would have been, “… I used to love it. I can still remember that feeling… I used to work as a bar-maid you know. A poor job for an Alpha, but I loved it. Towards the end of the night, I’d get up on the tables and sing and dance for the last few people…. I felt so free.”

 

A small smile spread across her face, “That’s how I met him you know… my gorgeous omega. I was singing one night, and he… just started playing his guitar. He looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.”

 

She shook her head, “I remember the look on his face when he’d play his guitar…. How happy it made him when I sang and danced along. Nothing else mattered in the world, it was just me and him…. And then he fell pregnant with Coco, and the true meaning of being an Alpha was clear to me. There was something more important in my life…. More important than music.”

 

Sighing wearily, a frown flashed across her face, “I wanted to put down roots…. Raise a family, maybe give Coco some siblings. Set up a business that I could be proud of…. But he just wanted to dance around and play for the world. In the end, we each made a sacrifice to get what we wanted…. Now you must make a choice!”

 

“But…” Miguel shook his head, “… I don’t wanna pick sides…. Why can’t you be on my side?! That’s what family is meant to be like, what they’re supposed to do! Support each other…” he sniffed, tears building up in his eyes, “… but you never will.”

 

And then he ran, leaving a stunned Imelda behind.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

Alpha!

 

He knew that voice.

 

It had to be his Alpha!

 

Nobody paid him any attention as he headed towards the alleyway, and eager smile on his face.

 

“Well, lookie what we found.”

 

A large hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks and turning him around. A well-dressed beta stared at him, a sly smile on his face.

 

“And here I thought we’d never find you…” The man cooed, clearly trying to sound reassuring but failing miserably, “… come on. We know someone who’d love to meet you.”

 

As another hand grabbed him, the omega realised that there was no point in struggling.

 

Even as they pulled him away.

 

…………………………………………………………………………..

 

After failing to persuade the bodyguard that he was the great great grandson of one of Ernesto De La Cruz’s men, and that he was definitely invited to the party, Miguel used a different tactic.

 

“Thanks guys!” he beamed at the brass band who had smuggled him past the guard in the tuba, allowing him to get on the train that would take him up towards the De La Cruz tower.

 

As soon as he laid eyes on it, he couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment.

 

It was just… so amazing!

 

As he and the band left the train, he almost stumbled up the steps, unwilling to take his eyes off of the main tower of the building.

 

He still couldn’t believe his great, great grandfather was living here!

 

As he followed the crowd inside, he struggled to push his way through the mass of people that swarmed all around him. He had to find his great, great grandfather, and to do that, he needed to find Ernesto de la Cruz.

 

“Senor De La Cruz!” he called out, hoping that the other Alpha might hear him over the loud music, and the multiple different films that were playing all around the room, “Senor De La Cruz!”

 

Nothing.

 

Growling to himself in frustration, getting confused with all the different scents that threatened to suffocate him, Miguel fought his way to the edge of the room, taking several deep breaths and turning his attention to the screen opposite.

 

It was his favourite film… Ernesto De La Cruz as a priest who just wanted to save his town through music. He flew as well, which was just awesome!

 

“He will not listen Father!” The nun pleaded on the screen, as De La Cruz straightened up, pulling his guitar closer.

 

“He will listen to music!”

 

And then it hit Miguel…. He knew exactly what he had to do.

 

Making sure the guitar was still safe, he raced back up the stairs, climbing on top of the bannister…. Before letting out the loudest gritto in his life.

 

Instantly, everything seemed to fall silent, aside from the films on the screens.

 

“Señoras y señores

Buenas tardes, buenas noches

Buenas tardes, buenas noches

Señoritas y señores”

 

Walking down the stairs, he knew he was flushing at the attention he was getting.

To be here with you tonight brings me joy, que alegria

For this music is my language, and the world es mi familia

For this music is my language, and the world es mi familia”

 

Ernesto De La Cruz was staring right at him.

 

For this music is my language

And the world es mi familia

For this music is my language...”

 

Before he could finish however, he narrowly avoided falling in the pool, feet slipping along the ground as his song was cut off. Thankfully, he quickly managed to regain his footing, a blush spreading across his face as he smiled sheepishly.

 

The blush only increased in intensity as Ernesto De La Cruz moved forwards, clapping his hands together in appreciation.

 

“Bravo! Bravo!” the Alpha called out, “A true fan of my work I see!” He then slapped a hand on Miguel’s shoulder, “You have great potential!”

 

“T-Thank you senor…” Miguel stammered out, “…. I-I-I was hoping to speak to you actually, I- “

 

“- Of course you were! What young Alpha with your talent wouldn’t be?!”

 

Before Miguel could say anything, Ernesto took his arm and started leading him through the party, introducing him to everyone who was anyone.

 

None of them appeared to be a special friend of De La Cruz’s…. none of them seemed to be Miguel’s great great grandfather.

 

……………………………………………………………….

 

He didn’t want to go to the Tower.

 

The blinding lights and the crowds didn’t bother him.

 

But he was there…. The mean man.

 

He didn’t want to go there.

 

“Stop struggling omega…” one of the men holding him growled, giving him a firm shake, “…. Just walk will ya?”

 

“He doesn’t understand.” The other guard sneered, “Just pick him up, it’ll take less time.”

 

He kicked, and he tried to protest…. But it had no effect.

 

There was nothing he could do except whine and hope that his Alpha was close enough to hear it.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………

 

Imelda felt like she’d aged about fifty years since this night began.

 

Her Alpha great great grandson was trapped in the Land of the Dead, refusing to take her blessing, and making her question everything that she ever believed.

 

Hector did love her…. She knew this. So if he did run away with Ernesto, then why didn’t she ever see him with the Alpha on tour, or in those films? 

 

Why did her omega seem to disappear off of the face of the earth?

 

Why was there no sign of him in the Land of the Dead?

 

Until today anyway…. She was sure that she’d heard Hector’s voice during that music competition, happy and gleeful, just how she remembered him.

 

As she was pondering this, preparing to get back on Pepita and find the rest of her family before heading to De La Cruz’s tower to try and find Miguel, she suddenly felt Pepita tense up as though she’d heard something…. And then she was off.

 

“Pepita? PEPITA!”

 

……………………………………………………………….

 

Mistresses’ Omega in trouble…. Must save the omega.


	12. I Seized the Moment

“… And this is my offerings room!” Ernesto gestured at the large piles of food, guitars and other bits and bobs, “All of this has been given to me by my fans in the Land of the Living!”

 

Miguel resisted the urge to groan…. He’d been on his feet for ages and there was no sign of his great great grandfather anywhere. Meeting his musical hero was nice, and the other famous people were really friendly… but he was tired, and he wanted to go home now.

 

And he was really fed up of the little dogs running around trying to trip him up.

 

“They leave me more offerings than I know what to do with.” Ernesto continued, seemingly unaware that Miguel had stopped enjoying the tour long ago, “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate each and every one of them but- “

 

Suddenly, he stopped, clearly having only just noticed that Miguel was looking a little fed-up, “I’m sorry, this can all get a little overwhelming. Just tell me if you need a little break.”

 

“Actually…” Miguel nervously rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish grin on his face, “… I wanted to ask you something.”

 

“Of course! Of course, anything I can do to- “

 

“- You knew my great great grandfather.”

 

Ernesto stopped in his tracks, shock written all over his face as the scanned Miguel from head to toe. “I-I did?”

 

“Yeah, I think you used to play together!” Miguel started to bounce up and down on the spot, the excitement started to bubble up, “I found an old photo and he had your guitar!”

 

Immediately, the atmosphere seemed to change in the room, as Ernesto straightened up. The friendly, welcoming smile had completely disappeared from his face, and he looked…. Terrifying.

 

Unwillingly, Miguel found himself shrinking back, his instincts screaming at him to submit to the larger, more powerful Alpha. It was then that he noticed they seemed to be at the back of the tower…. Where there were no crowds to be seen.

 

“What was your name again?” Ernesto asked, the words almost coming through as a hiss.

 

“I-I…. Miguel Rivera.” The teenager stammered, the feeling of nausea building up as a wicked smirk flashed across Ernesto’s face.

 

“Rivera… of course you are.”

 

Before Miguel could question the strange statement, a side door opened and two large, suited betas (dressed very similar to the bodyguards scattered around the tower) strode up, a familiar figure struggling between them.

 

“We found him boss!” one of the men announced, clearly not having noticed that Miguel was in the room, “He wasn’t quite at the competition, but he was fairly close.”

 

Miguel growled at the sight of the struggling omega, stepping forwards as his fists clenched up, a surge of protectiveness rising up quickly.

 

“What are you doing with him?!” he yelled, an Alpha growl in his voice, “Put him down!”

 

The omega seemed relieved to see him, a beam appearing on his face… only for it to be replaced by fear when he spotted who was standing beside Miguel.

 

“He’s scared of you…” Miguel whispered, turning to Ernesto and taking several steps back at the look on the other Alpha’s face, “… Why is he scared of you?”

 

Ernesto didn’t answer him, a wicked smirk appearing on his face as he made his way over to the struggling omega.

 

“I thought I’d never find you again…” he muttered, barely audible of the omega’s panicked whines, “… when you ran away all those years ago, I thought about getting the police involved. Aren’t you grateful that I didn’t Hector?”

 

Hector… Miguel frowned, stepping closer as the omega met his eyes, a pleading look in them.

 

Ernesto was quick to notice that.

 

“You won’t remember him will you Hector…” Ernesto reached back and grabbed Miguel’s arm, pulling him closer, “… Judging by those bones, they still won’t put your picture on the ofrenda. Do you even know who you are to one another?”

 

“What are you talking about?!” Miguel exclaimed, trying to get free, “Let me go! Let him go!”

 

“Miguel Rivera… great great grandson of Hector Rivera.”

 

The words caused Miguel to stop what he was doing, the shock sinking into his bones as he stared at the trapped omega.

 

Of course.

 

It explained everything.

 

“It was you…” he whispered, slowly, turning to Ernesto, “… he went with you and never came back… because you killed him.”

 

“Clever, clever boy.” Ernesto hissed, tightening his grip.

 

“B-But, why?!”

 

“… He should have been mine.”

 

The omega instantly whimpered at the words and shook his head, struggling a little more.

 

“He doesn’t really know who I am…” Ernesto mused, “… amazing what a missing piece can do to someone’s mind.” Slowly, he pulled a small box from his pocket, and when Miguel listened closely, he could hear something rattling about inside it.

 

“I think I prefer you like this Hector…” the older Alpha continued, “… you weren’t a very well-behaved omega before. This is much better.”

 

Miguel snapped.

 

With a feral growl, sounding a lot braver than he felt, he wrenched his arm free and lunged at De La Cruz, pushing the Alpha’s betrayal to the back of his mind and focusing on the omega… on his great, great grandpa.

 

They needed to get out of here, they needed to find Mama Imelda.

 

Ernesto barely stumbled back at his challenge, raising an eyebrow arch in amusement as his bodyguards dropped Hector to the ground and rushed to grab Miguel instead.

 

“Get rid him.” He ordered one of them, “On no account, is he allowed anywhere near this building again.”

 

“And the omega boss?”

 

Ernesto glanced over at the shaking figure on the floor, “Throw him in the pit…” he ordered the other bodyguard, “… I’ll deal with him after the show.”

 

With Miguel being dragged one way and the omega the other way, the younger Alpha started to struggle violently.

 

“Why are you doing this?!” he screamed at the Alpha he’d once idolised, “WHY?!”

 

Just before he could be fully dragged from the room, Ernesto turned to him and smirked. “Isn’t it obvious… I seized my moment.”

 

………………………………………………..

 

“And Pepita just flew off?” Julio frowned, “Without you?”

 

“Yes, yes, yes!” Imelda threw her hands up into the air in exasperation, “How many times do I have to say it?!”

 

Julio just nodded frantically, shorter legs speeding up as they all headed to De La Cruz’s tower. As Imelda continued to rant and rave about that ‘thrice-damned spirit animal’ and Miguel, he turned to the other members of the family, shrugging as they gave him concerned looks.

 

Something had happened with Imelda, but no-one knew what.

 

“Ugh…” Imelda didn’t seem to notice the concern behind her, “… just as garish as I thought it would be. Ernesto never was one for simple things… most omegas loved it, just not the one that he wanted.”

 

This was another thing that had changed… Imelda never really mentioned her omega, not without anger in her voice.

 

This soft remembrance was new.

 

As they got closer and closer to the tower, with it being very obvious that Imelda was just planning to storm in and drag Miguel out of there, the group suddenly heard a sniffling noise coming from a nearby alleyway.

 

A child crying.

 

Imelda immediately grew tense, rushing over and quickly finding a huddled figure.

 

“Miguel!” she exclaimed, before quickly softening her tone, “Miguel… what happened? Did you see- “

 

Before she could finish, Miguel suddenly darted forwards and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face into her bony middle as he started to sob.

 

“Miguel…” Imelda softened her tone further, “… Miguel, what happened?”

 

All that could be heard, was a muffled mumbling.

 

“Oh, do speak up Miguel, I can’t understand you when you- “

 

“- He killed him!”

 

Silence…. Imelda even looked a little stunned as Miguel continued.

 

“De la Cruz killed Papa Hector!”

 

……………………………………………………………………………..

 

He didn’t like it down here.

 

It was cold.

 

Wringing out his jacket, trying to get rid of the last remnants of water, he huddled up as tightly as he could.

 

“Alpha…” he whimpered, fingers brushing over the bond mark, “… Alpha!”

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………

 

“So…” Imelda felt like she was going to pass out, “… let me get this straight. Ernesto and H-Hector went on their tour… and you think Ernesto killed him?” She shook her head, “Ernesto adored Hector, he wouldn’t- “

 

“- He did!” Miguel instantly protested, his frustration bubbling up once again, “I don’t know how or when, but he did! And he hurt Papa Hector in the Land of the Dead, so he wouldn’t remember or try and find you!”

 

With Mama Imelda and the rest of the family still not looking overly sure (someone would have noticed, surely?), Miguel shook his head in desperation. “I-I can prove it!”

 

“How?”

 

Silence.

 

De La Cruz would never admit to killing Papa Hector outright…. But maybe… there might be a way to see what happened for real.

 

“I have an idea.”


	13. La Llorona

The crowd whooped and cheered at the swelling music, lights swirling all around the large stage, all eyes on it and the screen.

 

This was the most anticipated event of the year.

 

The day that they would finally see how Ernesto de la Cruz lived his life.

 

As everyone settled down in their seats, the lights suddenly went out… and a giant avocado appeared on the stage, with paper flames suddenly lighting up behind it.

 

Out of the avocado, dozens of dancers, all dressed like Frida Kahlo crawled out, with some making their way to the stage and the others climbing onto a giant cactus.

 

There were so many of them, that nobody noticed the several rushing backstage.

 

As the Rivera family rushed downstairs, Miguel turned to the real Frida Kahlo and beamed at her. “Gracias Frida!”

 

“Good luck muchacho.” 

 

Quickly, they all shed their disguises before huddling back together.

 

“Everyone clear on the plan?” Miguel double-checked.

 

“Find the questions for the interview.” Rosita muttered.

 

“Add in some about… Hector.” Julio was next.

 

“Watch what happens… but Miguel must be sent home before the sunrise.” Imelda pulled out a marigold petal, “Does everyone have their petals?”

 

They all nodded, before breaking out of the huddle and rushing away.

 

“I hope you’re sure about this Miguel.” Imelda muttered as they ran through the corridors, only to come to a stop when they heard raised voices.

 

“GET HIM OUT OF MY SIGHT!”

 

“I know you have something to do with it, Cruz! Where is he?!”

 

Miguel frowned in recognition at the voice, motioning for his family to press up against the wall in an attempt not to be seen.

 

Less than a minute later, a struggling Chicharrón was carried past them, shouting and cursing up a storm, to the point where Imelda covered Miguel’s ears.

 

However, the guards didn’t count on a familiar dog charging into them.

 

“Dante!” Miguel hissed, rushing forwards as he leapt over the fallen guards, “Where did you come from… did you roll in paint?”

 

Dante just barked at him, tiny wings fluttering behind him as the rest of the Rivera family stared at him in shock.

 

“Your damn spirit guide nearly pulled my arm off trying to get me here…” Chicharrón growled, storming over to Miguel, “… where is he then?”

 

They both knew exactly who he was talking about.

 

“De La Cruz has done something with him, but we’re going to get him back, we have a plan!”

 

Before Chicharrón could say anything, he suddenly spotted Imelda behind Miguel and narrowed his eyes at her, “This your family?” he asked, “Why haven’t they sent you home yet? Why are they just letting you- “

 

Suddenly he stopped, clearly coming to a realisation in his mind.

 

“- He’s your Great great grandpa.” He whispered in shock, barely reacting when Miguel nodded, “But that would mean…” A frown suddenly appeared on his face, as he turned and glared at the Rivera family, “… One of you was his Alpha. Woman in the purple right?”

 

Imelda looked stunned by the attention, and the sheer anger that was directed at her. Miguel tried to explain the situation to Chicharrón, but the shorter Alpha cut of him off and started to yell over him, not seeming to care that there was a chance they’d be found and thrown out.

 

“How dare you! Do you even realise what happened to him, what continues to happen to him?”

 

Imelda took a step back.

 

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you killed him, but you didn’t help did you? Some Alpha you are! Alphas are meant to protect and cherish their omegas, and what do you do? You let him be killed and then refuse to put him on the ofrenda! He goes to that damn gate every year, and every year, he’s rejected!”

 

“I thought- “

 

“- He was murdered you bitch! Murdered! And then he was attacked and left a mute, oblivious idiot who seems to have wandered straight into the grasp of a kidnapper! You don’t deserve to be an Alpha, and you especially don’t deserve to be his Al- “

 

“- SILENCE!”

 

Oh, it definitely went silent as the two Alphas squared off against one another, with Miguel and the rest of the family watching, tension written all over their bodies.

 

“How. Dare. You!” Imelda hissed, “How dare you say I don’t deserve him! How dare you- “

 

“- we don’t have time for this!”

 

Imelda and Chicharrón stopped, both turning to Miguel, who was looking more than a little stressed. 

 

“Can’t we save Papa Hector and then argue about who’s the best Alpha?”

 

“Hector… his name is Hector?” Chicharrón smiled softly to himself, “It suits him.” He then seemed to come to a decision in his mind, nodding once in determination, “Whatever you want kid, I’m here to help.”

 

Dante barked in agreement, as Miguel sighed in relief.

 

“Thank you… now let’s find that script!”

 

Quickly, they headed through the corridors again, Imelda turned to Chicharrón and smirked, “I hope you at least got one good hit on that- “Suddenly, she turned the corner and bumped into a large figure, stumbling back as the rest of her family stopped in their tracks.

 

“Imelda?” If he still had skin, Ernesto de la Cruz would have been as a pale as a ghost as he took a step back, “How did you- “Then he spotted Chicharrón, and it was like a lightbulb lit up in his mind, “Whatever he’s told you, it isn’t true! Hector left me, I don’t know where- AH!”

 

The impact of the show against his cheek cut him off and caused his head to spin around on his neck.

 

“That’s for murdering the love of my life!” she growled at him, unable to contain herself. Yes, Miguel’s claims might not be true, but they weren’t completely unbelievable.

 

Ernesto was always jealous of her.

 

“Who told you that?!” Ernesto growled, gripping his stinging face, “Who- “

 

“- that would be me!”

 

When Miguel darted out from around the corner, a snarl of anger burst free from Ernesto’s mouth. “You!”

 

And then Miguel spotted something interesting. Whatever was in the small box, was rattling in Ernesto’s pocket, much like back in his building, but in his hand was a couple of sheets of paper.

 

“He has the script!”

 

Ernesto guiltily glanced at the paper, just as the rest of the family emerged form around the corner, frowns on all their faces.

 

Needless to say, he bolted, racing down the corridor as the Rivera family and Chicharrón chased after him. Crashing through several giant paper mache models of his own head, he desperately cried out for his guards.

 

“Security! Stop them!”

 

Miguel however, was far too busy thinking about the comment that Mama Imelda made. “Is Papa Hector really still the love of your life?”

 

“Now is not the time Miguel!”

 

“I was just asking!”

 

As they ran into the room that sat underneath the stairs, the security guards finally leapt into action. Papa Julio and Chicharrón were the first to start the fight, both using their shorter frames to skid underneath one of the guards before they kicked him to the ground.

 

Oscar and Felipe faced to guards of their own, with one of the twins pulling his brother’s arms off and using them as a weapon, whilst the other used his head… literally.

 

As Ernesto tried to escape through a nearby exit, a hapless assistant didn’t seem notice the chaos until it was too late.

 

“Your eye scan is already in the system Senor De La Cruz. Take your place now, you’re on in thirty second- AAAHH!”

 

The man was pushed to the side, just as Imelda managed to catch up with the taller Alpha, grabbing the script just as he tried to push her to the ground. As the scuffle commenced, Imelda winced as she was pushed against a button, a bright flash blinding her for a moment, before Miguel managed to tackle Ernesto to the ground.

 

With the script in her hand, she fell to the ground, shaking off the last of the white dots before calling out in success. “I have it! I have it!”

 

But Miguel couldn’t answer, not when he was being chased all around the room.

 

Before Imelda could run to help him, hand already moving to her shoe to give the biggest of the guards an almighty wallop, the part of the floor that she had landed on, suddenly started to rise up to a spotlight above.

 

“Stop!” Ernesto cried out, “Get her off the stage before it’s too late!” He and his guards went one way and the rest of the Rivera went the other, both appearing on either side of the stage just as Imelda emerged at the top, the cameras focused on her terrified face as a large screen fluttered to life behind her.

 

When she spotted the guards heading up the stairs to try and grab her and the script, she fumbled slightly, yelping as she knocked into the microphone, a hand darting out to stop it from falling.

 

She was stuck, and she had no idea what to do next.

 

“Sing!”

 

Turning to her left, she frowned when she spotted Miguel and the rest of her family standing there, the younger Alpha cupping his mouth to make his voice project a little further.

 

“Sing!”

 

Sing? But she hadn’t sung since- 

 

Shaking her head, she realised how fruitless that line of thought was.

 

“Ay de mí, Llorona… Llorona de azul celeste  
Ay de mí, llorona, Llorona…. Llorona de azul celeste”

 

Behind her the screen flickered and the soft sounds of a guitar filled the area, the image of a young, omega man appearing, a stunned look on his face as he stared up at a gorgeous woman, who was starting to tap along to the sound of his guitar.

 

“Y aunque la vida me cuesta Llorona… No dejare de quererte”

 

Imelda knew that she was seconds away from crying. The image of her gorgeous omega during their first proper meeting shook her to the core.

 

As the guitar playing got quicker and quicker, she straightened up, remembering the dance she’d done so long ago.

 

“No dejare de quererte!”

 

On the screen, as her younger self really got into the song, she reached down and pulled Hector onto the table, beaming when the omega flushed so prettily at the attention he was getting.

 

And then the crowd noticed something…. There, sitting next to where the omega once was, was a young Ernesto de la Cruz.

 

Transfixed by what was on the screen, none of them really paid attention to what was happening on the stage. The song continued as Imelda dodged the grip of the guards.

 

“Me subí al pino más alto, llorona, a ver si te divisaba  
Como el pino era tierno, llorona, al verme llorar, lloraba.”

 

Imelda felt like she was a young girl again, the sound of Hector’s laughter coming from the screen making her feel light on her feet as she twirled and ducked around De La Cruz’s guards, the script still tight in her hand.

 

Spotting her family on the other side of the stage, almost all of them as transfixed by what was happening on the screen, she practically raced in that direction. Yes, they might not have been able to edit the script, but if De La Cruz had no script at all, then surely that was almost as good?

 

Just before she could reach the other side of the stage, the screen flickered slightly and her attention was automatically drawn to it as her wrist was grabbed.

 

Oh yes… she’d forgotten about Ernesto’s little jealousy issue.

 

As they danced around each other on the stage, with Imelda frantically trying to keep the script away from him, her eyes kept darting to the screen.

 

She’d completely forgotten this. 

 

She’d forgotten how Ernesto had joined in with her then as well, jumping onto the table with her and Hector and trying to push her off.

 

It was a challenge and back then, she had risen to it perfectly. Spinning around Hector, one carefully placed leg sent Ernesto falling to the ground, which of cause, the crowd all gasped at.

 

It was merely good timing that they were coming to the end of the song.

 

Just before the on-screen Ernesto fell to the ground, the skeletal Imelda raised her foot up and dug it violently into Ernesto’s foot just as he was singing the last note, causing him to break of into a cry of pain.

 

It sounded good though… like a proper gritto.

 

Knowing that she was free, Imelda rushed over to her family, the script still in her grasp as the screen went dark.

 

The crowd in the arena didn’t seem to notice that anything was wrong, all clapping and whooping as the interviewer made his way onto the stage and starting shaking Ernesto’s hand eagerly, moving him over to the seating that had been set up.

 

They’d just seen a glimpse of Ernesto’s life before he was famous. An and Alpha challenge at that. It didn’t matter that he’d lost, it just mattered that they’d seen it.

 

“Wonderful!” the interviewer announced, his voice echoing all over the arena and calming the crowd done. He didn’t seem to notice Ernesto’s annoyed glance over to the side, where the Rivera family waited…. His guards were nowhere to be found.

 

“An excellent start to the night!” The pair sat down, as the interviewer remained oblivious to the tension, “How are you Senor De La Cruz? Can I offer you anything to drink before we start?”

 

“No… thank you.”

 

The interviewer nodded, “Now, the script appears to have gone for a walk, but no worries! I think we all know what the crowd wants to know.”

 

Before Ernesto could speak up and protest, the interviewer beat him to it.

 

“Who was that omega?”

 

The screen flickered once… twice…. Before coming to life.


	14. The Truth Will Out

****Early 1900’s*****

 

“Stop staring at her, it’s creepy.”

 

Hector didn’t listen, head resting on his hands as he stared at the young woman who was currently trying to control twins, scolding them as they ran circles around her.

 

“Hector! Are you even listening to me?”

 

“Hmmmm?”

 

Ernesto groaned, before cuffing Hector around the back of his head, forcing the omega to pay attention to him. “What happened to it just being us?”

 

The words were clearly meant to be light and teasing, but there was a certain level of tension in the Alpha’s voice. One that the omega clearly noticed.

 

“We’ll always be friends Ernesto!” Hector beamed at him, “You don’t have to be worried about that.”

 

Turning his attention back to the Alpha woman, he completely missed the look of anger flashing across Ernesto’s face.

 

*****The screen blurs********

 

“What is this?” Ernesto plucked the notebook out of the omega’s hands, holding it up over his head (only to frown when the omega just stood up and grabbed it), “You writing a new song for m- us?”

 

“I just wrote us a new song, remember? The World Es Mi Familia?” Hector took his seat again, turning his attention back to the notes scribbled on the page, “This is a song for Imelda.”

 

“… Who?”

 

“Imelda Rivera! The girl from the bar? On the table?”

 

“Oh… her.” Ernesto scowled, “You’re writing a song for her.”

 

Hector nodded eagerly, “I know, I know… Alphas are meant to court omegas, but that’s stupid. Once she hears this, she’ll realise just how much I already love her!”

 

“L-Love her?! You’ve only just met her!”

 

Clearly not paying attention, Hector just hummed, sounding out the tune he was writing. Ernesto however, was still not happy and this was clear for anyone to see. 

 

“You’ve never written a song for me.” He muttered.

 

“We’re not courting…” Hector stated matter-of -factly, never taking his eyes off of the page and completely missing the hurt look that flashed across Ernesto’s face, “…. Besides, I write songs for you to sing all the time. I have almost two notebooks full, remember?”

 

“…. Yeah… I remember.”

 

*****The screen blurs*****

 

Ernesto watched from the shadows as Hector started to throw stones at the young female Alpha’s bedroom window.

 

The omega didn’t seem to know that he was there.

 

Good.

 

“Imelda!” he heard Hector hiss, the omega’s lower lip being nibbled slightly due to nerves, “Imelda!”

 

“Don’t open the window…” Ernesto found himself whispered, “… just ignore him.”

 

His pleas were made in vain as the window was thrown open and the Alpha growled out at Hector. “What do you want? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

 

Hector didn’t seem fussed by the angry tone, instead beaming at her until she recognised who he was.

 

“Oh…” her tone softened noticeably, “… you’re the boy from the pub. I thought you were… never mind, what are you doing here.”

 

Standing there stunned for a few seconds, Hector shook his head, holding up his guitar. “I-I-I- “

 

Imelda seemed amused by Hector’s stammering, “You played beautifully…” she giggled, “… do you have another song?”

 

Nod.

 

“For me?”

 

Another nod.

 

“Alright… let’s here it.”

 

Hector took a deep breath, before letting out a joyous gritto…. And waking up almost every house on the street. Uncaring of the angry voices coming from nearby, Hector strummed on his guitar, and started his song.

 

“What color's the sky? ¡Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!

You tell me that it's red ¡Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!”

 

Ernesto could only watch in anger, arms folded over his chest and knuckles white with the way he was clenching them. It was clear that ha hated what he was seeing and hearing.

 

“Where should I put my shoes? ¡Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!

You say, "put them on your head!" ¡Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!”

 

Imelda was loving it though, laughing at the lyrics and clapping along to the beat as Hector started dancing around underneath her window.

 

Ernesto left when Imelda started blowing kisses.

 

******Screen Blurs*******

 

“She’s not right for you!”

 

Hector looked hurt by the words… or was the tight grip on his bony shoulders?

 

“I- “

 

“- You’ve seen how she laughs at you? You deserve better!”

 

“Ernesto! Stop it!” Hector wrenched himself away, taking several steps back, “I love her, why can’t you understand that?!”

 

“She doesn’t love you!”

 

Before Hector could say anything, a familiar female voice started to shout from the side lines.

 

“HOW DARE YOU!” 

 

A shoe came flying out of nowhere and hit Ernesto in the head, sending him stumbling to the side as Imelda stormed onto the scene.

 

“I’VE HAD IT WITH YOU DE LA CRUZ!” She continued to growl at him, picking up her shoe and shoving it back onto her foot as two boys called out “Fight! Fight! Fight!” behind her.

 

“Imelda- “

 

Imelda ignored Hector’s quiet protest, getting up in Ernesto’s face, “You want to fight…” she hissed, the volume of her voice dropping dramatically, “… alright then, lets fight. The winner gets to keep him.”

 

“Guys please…“Hector pushed in between the pair and tried to keep them away form each other, “… you don’t need to do this!”

 

At the sound of the omega’s distress, both Alpha’s stopped trying to get closer to one another, but Ernesto was back to feeling angry when Hector turned away from him and placed his hands on Imelda’s shoulders.

 

“I already choose you…” Hector whispered, “… I don’t like Ernesto like that, we’re like brothers! It would be weird, right Ernesto?”

 

Silence.

 

“Ernesto?” Hector turned to his friend, frowning at the look on the older boy’s face, “Right?”

 

“…. Right.”

 

******Screen Blurs*****

 

Dozens of images flashed by in an instant. All revolving around Hector and Imelda, covering their courting years with Ernesto de La Cruz on the side-lines.

 

They covered Hector picking dozens of flowers for the Alpha.

 

They covered Imelda practically pressing Hector up against nearby walls, kissing him until his face went bright red.

 

They covered all of the songs Hector wrote for her.

 

They covered the proposal.

 

The screen cleared, revealing Ernesto and Hector dancing on a stage, performing a familiar song as Hector strummed the guitar eagerly. Once the song came to an end and the applause of the crowd died down, there was a stunned silence as Imelda strode confidently onto the stage, moving over to Hector and taking both of his hands.

 

“Hector…” she began gently, smiling as a light flush appeared on the omega’s cheek, “… For almost two years, you’ve made me happier than I thought I could ever be. You’ve been there for me through everything… and I want to make you mine.”

 

The crowd whooped and cheered at the proposal, and how Hector let out the loudest and happiest gritto yet, jumping into the air and nodding eagerly when he touched back down. “Yes, yes, yes!”

 

With the newly engaged couple so happy, nobody really noticed the anger on Ernesto’s face.

 

Not back then anyway.

 

******The screen blurs*******

 

“I’m glad you agreed to be my best man…” Hector stated, neatening out his tie as he stared into the mirror, “… I mean, I know you and Imelda had problems earlier on, but I couldn’t imagine this day without you.”

 

Silence.

 

“Ernesto?”

 

Hector turned around and frowned at the male Alpha, who was just staring at him.

 

“Ernesto? Is everything alright?”

 

There was a deep sigh, before Ernesto finally spoke up, “I just… I’m worried that she’s not right for you. That this isn’t the Happy Ever After you want!”

 

“It is though!” Hector nodded his head eagerly, “Can’t you see it! I’m getting married to the Alpha of my dreams, she loves me being a musician, and we might have children who are as beautiful as her!”

 

“Children? Isn’t it a little early to be thinking about children?!”

 

But Hector was back to ignoring him, babbling about what he thought his future children would look like.

 

Ernesto just stared at him, a fond smile on his face.

 

*****The screen blurs******

 

The wedding was over, and Imelda was pulling Hector back to the house that her family had come together to buy, their laughter echoing throughout the streets.

 

They weren’t aware that Ernesto was following on behind, hiding in the shadows as Imelda pulled Hector into the home and shut the door.

 

He watched as a light appeared in one of the upper windows… probably the bedroom.

 

He didn’t know how long he stood there, staring at the lit window… imagining what was going on in that room… needless to say, the sun was starting to rise before he went to leave.

 

******The screen blurs************

 

“Remember me… “Hector sang softly at he plucked at his guitar, struggling to hold it over his protruding belly, only pausing occasionally in order to rub at the swollen flesh, beaming when he felt an answering foot against his hand, “…. Remember me.”

 

“Are you ever going to finish that song?” Ernesto asked wearily, fed up of hearing the same few notes and words over and over again, “We need some new material, and fast.”

 

There was a brief moment of silence, before Hector frowned, “This… this isn’t going to be a performance song. It’s just for the baby.”

 

“It can be for them and our fans!”

 

“No Ernesto…” Hector took a deep breath, trying to remain calm as his hormones threatened to make him lose his temper, and quickly, “… it’s going to be a lullaby and it’s going to just be for my daughter… or son. My daughter.”

 

“… You sound so sure? About the gender?”

 

Hector nodded, “Omega instincts…” he explained, sounding all-knowing (despite never really going in for the traditional omega values), “… Imelda’s already started to buy little dresses for her.”

 

“I hear my name!”

 

Ernesto scowled as Hector lit up at the sight of his Alpha, who casually strode over and bent down to give Hector a passionate kiss, before she got to her knees and pressed a kiss against the swollen belly of her omega.

 

“And how is our little angel.”

 

“Kicking… and hard!”

 

It was the pair of them had forgotten he was even there.

 

“Come on…” Imelda gently helped Hector to his feet, “… It’s getting too warm, and if you think I’m just going to let you sit out here and get sun-stroke, you’ve got another thing coming.”

 

“Alright! Alright!”

 

And then they were gone… without even a goodbye.

 

*****the screen blurs*****

 

Every Alpha instinct in him was screaming.

 

Pacing outside the bedroom, trying avoiding colliding with Imelda, Ernesto gnawed at his fingernails, wincing every time Hector cried out in pain.

 

“Sit down!” Imelda hissed, her own body just as tense, still angry at the nurses for not letting her into the room with her omega, “You’re driving me loco!”

 

“He might be your omega, but he was my friend long before that!” Ernesto snapped back, tensing as another cry of pain echoed through the building, “He was too skinny for this! You should have put some meat on his bones first!”

 

“I was all too happy to have him sit and home and rest, but you were the one who desperately needed new songs. Write them yourself! Show everyone that you do have some talent, rather than just playing off the success of others!”

 

“How dare you- “

 

Just as Ernesto got down into Imelda’s face, there was another cry, this one highly different from the pained screams they’d been hearing earlier.

 

A baby’s cry.

 

“Hector!” Imelda pushed Ernesto to one side, reaching the door just as the mid-wife opened it up, the older woman stopping in surprise when she came face to face with the anxious Alpha.

 

“How is he? Is he okay?”

 

The mid-wife nodded soothingly, “He’s perfectly fine, omegas have been doing this for decades you know.” She moved to one side and allowed Imelda to come inside, shutting the door before Ernesto could go inside.

 

Ernesto stood there in shock for a few moments, eyes fixated on the closed door. With his nose practically pressed against the wood, he could hear some of what was going on inside.

 

“I’m so proud of you.” Imelda, probably snuggling up to her omega and her new-born, “A little girl! Just like you said.”

 

“Did you- did you think of a name?”

 

Hector sounded exhausted… unsurprising really because of everything that he’d just gone through.

 

“Hector… you gave birth to her, you should choose her name.” 

 

“… Socorro. I-is that alright?”

 

“Whatever you want my love. It’s a beautiful name.”

 

Whatever was said next, was too quiet to be heard.

 

But Ernesto knew that he wasn’t ever mentioned.

 

******The screen blurs*******

 

“Remember me, though I have to travel far, remember me… each time you hear a said guitar.”

 

Ernesto watched as Hector spun around the small room, the half-asleep baby in his arms as he sung the lullaby. Once he was finished, and his little ‘Coco’ was asleep, Hector turned to Ernesto and beamed at him.

 

“Isn’t she perfect?” he whispered, barely able to contain his glee, “Look at her! Isn’t she perfect.”

 

“Yes… very cute. When were you thinking of coming back to- “

 

Before he could finish, Coco started to scream, and Hector’s attention was diverted away from the conversation.

 

Again.

 

****The Screen Blurs*******

 

Once again, multiple memories seemed to flash by.

 

Ernesto being pushed to the side, glaring as Imelda’s family all crowded around the baby and the omega, cooing as little Coco sneezed.

 

Hector trying to teach Coco to crawl as he shuffled across the floor.

 

Coco running her fingers over Hector’s prized guitar as he pretended that she was writing a little song of her own.

 

Imelda and Hector both encouraging Coco to say Mama and Papa respectively, only for Coco to very seriously say, “No.”

 

Hector worrying about everything as Coco finally learnt to walk, as though tottering around the small home was dangerous.

 

Imelda giving the baby a bath and styling the girl’s hair into cute little pigtails as soon as it was long enough.

 

Hector pressuring Ernesto into playing hide and seek with the brat.

 

Coco arguing with one of the children in her playgroup, hand already darting towards her shoe in the perfect imitation of her mother.

 

Coco making faces at herself in the mirror, only for Hector to turn his attention away from song-writing and join her, the pair giggling madly.

 

Every month that the child got older, she found new ways to annoy him. From pestering him directly, to pulling Hector away from his important work, writing new songs.

 

And every month, Ernesto got angrier and angrier.

 

*****The Screen Blurs********

 

“It’s just for a few months Hector! Think about it!” Ernesto paced the small kitchen area, a beaming grin on his face, “Playing your music all over the nearby towns, get our names out there!”

 

Hector seemed excited, but unsure by the decision, glancing between Imelda (whose face betrayed nothing) and Ernesto, “I mean, it sounds nice but- “

 

“- But? But what? 

 

“… But what about Imelda and Coco…” he turned to his Alpha, “… I need to be here, to take care of- “

 

“- Maybe we can come to an agreement.” Imelda suddenly spoke up, cutting Hector off as she kept her eyes on Ernesto, “He is my omega Ernesto, we will have to talk about this.”

 

Silence.

 

Undeterred by Ernesto’s frustration, Imelda continued. “I don’t want to stop him from chasing his dream, from showing everyone how talented he is….” 

 

Hector beamed at this.

 

“…. But I don’t want him being away from home for too long either.” She glanced over at Hector, silently coming to a decision in her mind, “Three months, does that sound long enough? Once the three months are over, then you’ll come home.”

 

Hector agreed with this, before Ernesto could even think about protesting.

 

“Alright…” Imelda clapped her hands together, “… let’s get packing then, hmm? I make sure you have the warm clothing you’ll need.”

 

*****The screen blurs********

 

“Remember me, though I have to say goodbye, remember me. Don’t let it make you cry.”

 

Ernesto listened to the lullaby through the door, frowning as the brat joined in with the song. As long as she didn’t cry and beg him not to leave, it was okay.

 

“Ernesto…”

 

Imelda, having snuck up on him, moved into his eyeline and glared at him, “… Look after him. Don’t let him get hurt.”

 

“I would never- “

 

“- I know how you feel about him.” Imelda interrupted, “Three months and that’s it.”

 

“…. Three months. I understand.”

 

**************The screen blurs**********

 

“Three months isn’t enough!” Ernesto cried out, watching in dismay as Hector placed the notebook on the top of his clothes, before closing the suitcase, “Write to Imelda! Ask for another three months!”

 

“Ernesto…” In comparison to the Alpha, Hector’s tone was soothing, an apologetic smile on his face, “… I promised her three months. We’ve had a good time out here, spread our names around. But I really need to be heading home now.”

 

“You can’t give up now, not when we’re so close to achieving our dream!”

 

Hector shook his head, “You know… after these last three months, I think it was always more of your dream Ernesto.” He shrugged, “I miss my little girl, I miss my Alpha. I could never do this forever, touring around and leaving them behind…. If you want to stay, then stay. You’ll be fine.”

 

As he went to leave, Hector yelped as his wrist was grabbed and Ernesto violently pulled him closer, “You can’t leave me! I need you! I need your songs!” 

 

“Ernesto, you’re hurting me!” Managing to pull his wrist free, Hector glared at his friend, “I’m going home! Hate me if you want, but I need to go back to my family.”

 

And then Hector was gone.

 

Slowly, Ernesto rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a small bottle of poison and staring at it… only to put it back in his pocket, legs leading him out the door and after the omega.

 

Hector had already made it halfway down the darkened street, thanks to his long legs. The area was completely deserted, with not a house light in sight.

 

Silence.

 

Which was probably the reason why he turned around at the sound of rushed footsteps along the cobbled stones.

 

He got a brief glimpse of his friend, before there was a sharp sudden pain in his mid-section, causing him to gasp sharply and drop the suitcase and guitar, both hands flying to where the pain was. His hands met cold metal, half of it still embedded in him… Ernesto’s hand still gripping the handle.

 

“E-E-Ernesto!” He whimpered, opening his mouth to scream for him, only for a giant hand to cover his mouth.

 

“Shut up!” Tears were starting to stream down Ernesto’s face, “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

 

Each cry of ‘shut up’ was punctured by the knife blade stabbing in and out of the vulnerable flesh, some of the stabs striking bone, until the mariachi uniform was stained bright red. On the final stab, Ernesto pulled the blade out fully and took a step back, panting heavily as Hector dropped to the ground, not able to draw enough breath to scream out for help.

 

“I’m sorry…” he whispered, bending down to pick up the suitcase and guitar case, “… I’m sorry Hector.”

 

And then he ran.

 

When back at the hotel, he practically threw the two pieces of luggage onto the bed and paced the room in agitation.

 

He couldn’t leave the body in the middle of the street.

 

Someone could find it.

 

Someone could link it back to him.

 

…. Maybe it wasn’t too late.

 

Leaving the cases where they were, Ernesto raced back outside, heading back to the place where he’d left Hector and hoping that no-one had found him first.

 

There was nothing there.

 

“Hector…” he hissed desperately, “… Hector!”

 

Silence.

 

For a moment, Ernesto was seconds away from panicking, until he spotted the blood trail on the floor… the blood trail that led directly into a nearby side street. Following it, he winced at what he saw.

 

Hector was leaning against the wall, blood now only oozing out of the inflicted wounds, his eyes half-shut.

 

He was still breathing though.

 

Moving to kneel in front of him, Ernesto really did have every intention of trying to help him, trying to keep the blood inside Hector’s body.

 

But he found his hands wandering lower than necessary.

 

“N-no….”

 

Ernesto’s head snapped up, eyes widened as Hector weakly tried to bat his hands away.

 

“N-no!”

 

Something in the Alpha snapped.

 

Instead of moving to Hector’s trousers, Ernesto’s hands made their way to his throat, fingers tightening around the slim throat as Hector’s eyes widened and he coughed and spluttered.

 

“You were meant to be mine!” he snarled, slamming Hector’s head against the wall behind him, a sickening crack echoing throughout the alleyway. He couldn’t stop. With each second, his grip tightened on the thin neck and he slammed the omega’s head against the wall.

 

It was only when he spotted the blood on the brick wall behind, that he realised just how far he’d gone. He pulled his fingers away from Hector’s neck like he’d been burnt, eyes widening as she shuffled backwards.

 

It was a horrific sight.

 

Blood matted the back of Hector’s head from the head wound. Blood stained his clothes from the knife wounds. Bruises encircled his neck from the strangulation… and his eyes were half open and glazed over in death… from the murder.

 

“No…” Ernesto muttered, “… no, no, no!”

 

He tried to shake Hector awake, only for nothing to happen.

 

“Shit.”

 

*****The screen blurred*****

 

The last shovel of dirt was thrown onto the make-shift grave.

 

“Sorry Hector…” Ernesto whispered, “… but I need to do this.”

 

********The screen blurred**********

 

Waking up as a skeleton was a shock.

 

It was even more of a shock to see Hector wandering around the entrance building, looking a little dazed and confused. 

 

It was easy to dodge the adoring fans and follow Hector into a nearby alleyway, pinning him against the wall.

 

“Did you tell anyone?!” he hissed.

 

“T-Tell what?” Hector nervously stuttered out, hands clasping at the hand around his neck, “Who- “ 

 

“- Stop playing around!”

 

The vacant look didn’t go away.

 

Ernesto frowned, “You don’t remember, do you?”

 

“Remember what?”

 

“Perfect…” Noticing a thin crack on the side of the omega’ head, Ernesto spun him around and pushed him back up against the wall, face first this time as he examined the back of the man’s head.

 

The evidence of his violent attack was all there, mostly hidden by the thick black hair, with one piece of the skull almost breaking away from the main section. 

 

Ernesto felt like he wasn’t in control.

 

He watched as his hand reached up to grab the loose piece, fingers snagging onto the bone, before he yanked and pulled at the loose piece, the other hand of Hector’s mouth as the omega screamed in pain.

 

With one final yank, the piece was free, straining to get back at Hector as the omega fell to the ground, whimpering as he clutched at the hole in his head.

 

Ernesto made a run for it just as the screen went black.


	15. Turning of the Tides

The crowd was silent as the screen went dark.

 

Even the interviewer didn’t seem to know what to do, his mouth gaping open slightly as Ernesto leapt to his feet, the chair he was sitting on falling backwards to the floor.

 

“Lies!” he hissed, “All lies!”

 

“You-you-you…” The interviewer pushed himself to his feet, “… you killed him!”

 

The crowd all started to jeer in agreement.

 

“No! It was… a missing scene from a movie I was going to do!” Ernesto knew the excuse was weak… he know that no-one was really going to believe it.

 

Especially not as the screen started to blur again, revealing brief but clear images of Ernesto grabbing Hector again in the Land of the Dead, trying to keep him as a prisoner, before Hector managed to get away, never to be seen again by Ernesto.

 

Until this evening of course.

 

“HIJO DE PUTA!” Came a scream from the side of the stage, and before anyone could react, a flash of purple darted forwards and soon Ernesto was on the ground, clutching at his face as Imelda stood over him, her boot clutched in her hand and her face twisted in grief.

 

“BASTARDO! VETE AL DEMONIO!” She screamed in anger, striking him again and again with her boot, “I LOVED HIM! HE WAS MY EVERYTHING, AND YOU-YOU- “

 

The rest of the Rivera family rushed over, pulling Mama Imelda off of Ernesto, all turning their own glares on the musician. Miguel himself, was struggling to hold Chicharrón back, as the other Alpha used curse words that would make a sailor blush.

 

This couldn’t be happening.

 

…………………………………………………………………

 

Pepita found the pit easily.

 

The soft whimpering and cold chill of the area caused her to shiver, her fur bristling slightly as she moved to the edge. Peering over the side, she purred loudly.

 

She’d found him.

 

Slowly, she flew down into the pit, trying not to shudder at the feeling of cold water lapping over her paws.

 

The omega didn’t look up at her.

 

Moving forwards, she butted her head gently against him, continuing to purr soothingly until he looked up at her, a wide smile appearing on his face.

 

“Hi kitty…” he whispered, laughing when she blew hot air all over him, drying him instantly, “… Alpha?”

 

Lowering herself, it was a silent invitation for the omega to climb onto her back, which he did.

 

And then they were off.

 

………………………………………………………

 

It was chaos on the stage.

 

The Rivera family were struggling to hold Imelda back as she cursed and snarled at him, as Miguel struggled to do the same with Chicharrón. The crowd was still booing and jeering, but no-one was moving. Not when there was a chance of a fight in the future.

 

None of Ernesto’s bodyguards moved. Over half of them wanted nothing more to do with their boss after the revelation… the others knew that if they did try to intervene, they could never show their faces in the Land of the Dead.

 

As Ernesto struggled to escape, desperately trying to get away from Imelda, Chicharrón and the persistent interviewer, there was a sudden roar from up above them, as a giant winged cat landed on the stage, a familiar figure on its back.

 

“HECTOR!”

 

…………………………………

 

Imelda went limp at the sight of Pepita, Hector riding on her back, glancing around in confusion.

 

He was still just as handsome as she remembered, even in his skeletal form. His eyes were still just as gorgeous, his hair just as soft-looking… and her mating bite still stood out on his bony shoulder.

 

She could remember giving him that bite on their wedding day… her long arms wrapping around her as he tried not to cry out.

 

“HECTOR!” she cried out, her struggles renewing as Pepita gently allowed the omega to get off of her.

 

She was so consumed in trying to get to him, she didn’t hear Rosita’s quiet exclamation behind her.

 

“That’s the omega from the gates!”

 

Pepita moved slightly to the back, a low growl echoing throughout the area as Hector glanced around in confusion, clearly hearing the muttering of the crowd, but not knowing that it was in relation to him.

 

And then his eyes fell on Imelda.

 

At first, it didn’t look like he even recognised her, his eyes darting over to Miguel and Chicharrón briefly, before his face seemed to light up with a big, beaming smile. “Alpha?”

 

The Rivera family slowly let go of Imelda, their own eyes wide as Imelda slowly moved forwards, clearly not wanting to spook the omega.

 

“Yeah…” she whispered, “… yeah, it’s me mi amado…. Hector.”

 

Just as she reached out to take his hand, something seemed to pull him back, causing him to yelp in alarm.

 

“He’s mine!” Ernesto growled, pulling Hector to his chest, “MINE!”

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

The feral growl that Mama Imelda let out wasn’t a surprise.

 

Even Chicharrón and Pepita seemed to have been stunned into silence as Imelda prowled forwards. All her good reasoning had disappeared. 

 

She was just focused on the intruding Alpha who had her omega in his grasp.

 

Ernesto returned the noise with a growl of his own, throwing Hector to one side, not even caring as the omega yelped and stumbled to the side, falling right off the stage.

 

This was clearly the last straw for Imelda, as she leapt on top of the other Alpha, bony fingers digging into his neck as she pinned him against the ground. 

 

Everyone else knew better than to intervene.

 

Intervening in an Alpha fight could end up with your arm being ripped off. 

 

Knowing that Chicharrón was unlikely to intervene either, Miguel slowly let go of him and jumped off the stage, rushing over to where Hector was slowly pulling himself together. “Are you alright?”

 

The omega nodded slowly, trying to shuffle away from the fight as far as he could, before curling up tightly.

 

“I know, I know…” Miguel whispered, trying to calm the omega down, “… I know it’s scary but- “He stopped in his tracks, spotting a small box sitting near the edge of the stage.

 

Nobody else had spotted it.

 

It shook violently, almost rocking off the stage.

 

As Ernesto and Mama Imelda rolled about on the stage, Miguel reached out and grabbed the box, examining it closely as the shaking seemed to increase in intensity.

 

It must have fallen out of De la Cruz’s pocket.

 

“Sorry…” he whispered to the omega, “... but this needs to end.”

 

The latch clicked open easily, and the lid flew open, causing Miguel to drop the box in shock. Seconds before the box hit the ground, a bright white piece of bone shot out, aiming directly for Hector. When the piece of bone hit him, Hector flew back against the wall, collapsing into lots of little, separate pieces once again, a strange golden glow surrounding them.

 

……………………………………………………………………………………….

 

Imelda had never felt rage like this.

 

Not even during the times when Ernesto and her would argue over Hector, and who had certain rights to him…. Even then, she retained some sense of control.

 

No now though.

 

Ernesto had finally crossed the line.

 

Growling as he managed to gain the upper hand, Ernesto pinned Imelda to the ground.

 

He couldn’t kill her, not like he could have done, had this happened in the Land of the Living…. But he could make her submit and then Hector would be his… his and his alone!

 

“GET AWAY FROM HER!”

 

……………………………………………………………………….

 

It was like a light-bulb went off in his head.

 

It all came rushing back to him.

 

Imelda… his Alpha.

 

Coco… his gorgeous daughter.

 

Ernesto…. His murderer.

 

As his bones all pulled themselves back together, his eyes shot open and a familiar face yelped and stumbled back, eyes wide in alarm.

 

“M-Miguel?” he found himself stammering, shaking his head as the events of the last few hours suddenly came back to him, “What-what- “

 

“- It worked!” Miguel beamed, “I can’t believe it actually worked!”

 

Before he could reply, the sounds of fighting suddenly hit him, prompting him to look towards the stage.

 

God, he’d forgotten how gorgeous Imelda was when she was angry.

 

And then he saw exactly who she was fighting.

 

If he had blood, it would be boiling.

 

Ignoring Miguel’s concerned cries of “Papa Hector? Papa Hector?”, he strode over to the band, snatching the guitar from the musician’s hand, before climbing onto the stage, standing over Ernesto… before swinging the guitar with all of his might.

 

“GET AWAY FROM HER!”

 

……………………………………………………………………….

 

As something hard hit him around the back of the head, Ernesto’s felt his grip loosen around Mama Imelda’s neck, falling to the ground beside the other Alpha, eyes slowly moving to his assailant.

 

He knew that voice.

 

Hector was standing above him, a cracked guitar in his hands, and a look of anger on his face.

 

“You-You…” The omega took a deep breath, practically trembling in fear, “… You. Killed. Me.”

 

Quickly, Ernesto pushed himself to his feet, backing away from the enraged omega. “Hector, now let’s just- “

 

The heavy breathing on the back of his neck caused him to stop in his tracks, slowly turning around as the giant winged cat almost seemed to smirk down at him.

 

“Imelda…” he found himself whimpering, “… Imelda, please have mercy.”

 

“Never.” 

 

With a sharp whistle, Pepita grabbed Ernesto in her teeth, and flew up into the air, throwing him up and catching him in her claws, as she flew over the crowd and then out of the stadium.

 

Once out, she then flung him into the distance, watching as he screamed in fear, impacting heavily with a large bell, which then landed right on top of him.

 

Silence filled the arena, as all eyes turned to Hector, who was gently placing the guitar back on the ground (sort of pointless since it was already cracked).

 

“Hector…” Imelda gently whispered, taking a step forwards, “… Hector I- “

 

“- the sunrise!”

 

Suddenly, everyone’s attention turned to the horizon, the sky turning orange, purple and pink

 

“Miguel!”

 

And then all eyes turned to the young boy, who was pulling his hoodie open, and staring down at his exposed rib cage.

 

“Someone get a petal! Now!”


	16. Proud Corazon

Miguel wished he could have spent more time in the Land of the Dead.

 

However, when he woke up in Ernesto’s tomb, surrounded by marigold petals and completely non-skeletal, he couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of relief.

 

Of course, he’d run home almost immediately, pushing past his family until he entered his Mama Coco’s room, locking the door behind him.

 

“Mama Coco?”

 

Slowly, she raised her head, giving him a tired smile. “Julio! How are you?”

 

Ignoring the slight memory lapse, Miguel took a seat next to Mama Coco, fingers strumming on the guitar he’d…. liberated from the tomb. “I-I had a really strange night Mama Coco…. I met your Pap though?”

 

“Papa?” Mama Coco’s voice cracked slightly, “Papa’s here?”

 

“… No Mama Coco, but- “

 

Suddenly the door crashed open, and the other members of the Rivera family barged inside, with Mama Elena leading the group. “Miguel!” she growled, “What are you doing? Where have you been?!” She then noticed the guitar, “What are you doing with- “

 

“- Stop!” Miguel ordered, straightening up as much as he could and glaring at the other Alpha, “Back off!”

 

“Miguel…” His Papa took a step forwards, “… what are you doing?”

 

“I’m making things right!” With his Papa sort of holding his Mama Elena back, Miguel took his seat again, strumming out a few familiar chords on it, “I-I know you might not remember this… but I know your Papa was the one who wrote it.”

 

“Papa used to love writing songs.”

 

“I-I know….” Miguel took a deep breath and started to sing, “… Remember me, thought I have to say goodbye, remember me.”

 

The song was soft, just how it was meant to be and with each word, the light seemed to return back to his Mama Coco’s eyes. Near the end, a soft voice started to join in, sounding so much like the little girl she used to be.

 

“Know that I’m with you, the only way that I can be. Until you’re in my arms again… Remember me.”

 

Miguel knew that tears were building up in his eyes… in fact that they were building in almost everyone’s eyes, especially when Mama Coco sighed happily.

 

“My Papa used to sing that song to me every night… I know he was singing it to me, even when he was gone, I knew he would sing that to me every night.” A frown flashed across her face, “And then, we heard the song over the radio… Ernesto De La Cruz’s latest hit. Mama banned music from the house from that day onwards.”

 

“Ernesto stole that from him Mama Coco! He-he hurt your Papa and stole everything from him, but…” Miguel took a deep breath, “… he loved you. He loved so much.”

 

There was a brief moment of silence, where Mama Elena clearly didn’t know whether to shout or cry.

 

In the silence, Mama Coco turned to her bedside drawers, opening the top one and pulling out a scrapbook, bits of paper sticking out at every angle. “I kept every letter my Papa sent me…” she whispered, “… I always read them when I’m having a bad day.”

 

Everyone knew what the bad days were like… the fact that she kept reading his letters, was probably the only reason she even still remembered who he was.

 

“I also kept this…” Slowly, she turned to the page, weakened fingers pulling out a torn piece of paper and she handed it over to Miguel.

 

With shaking fingers, Miguel took it, a wide smile spreading across his face when he saw what was on the paper.

 

Papa Hector, a gentle smile on his face.

 

Slowly pulling the stolen photo out of his pocket, he matched the torn piece to the rest of the photo and sighed in relief.

 

Papa Hector could go up on the ofrenda, for the first time in over nine decades.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

One year later, things had changed drastically for the Rivera family.

 

“And there’s your Papa Julio, your Tia Rosita, Tia Victoria… and those two are Felipe and Oscar!” Baby Coco cooed in his arms, tiny hands reaching out for the photos as Miguel continued, “These aren’t just old photos, they’re our family and they’re counting on us to remember them!”

 

Coco cooed again, just as Mama Elena entered the room, placing a gentle hand on Miguel’s shoulder, before sadly glancing down at the framed photo in her other hand.

 

Mama Coco had passed away less than two months before. Peacefully in her sleep, with a smile on her face.

 

She had been reunited with her Papa once again, and Miguel knew that.

 

However, Mama Elena was still grieving. Slowly, Miguel placed his hand on her shoulder, comforting her the only way he knew how as she placed the photo on the ofrenda, sitting near the newly-mended photo of her Mama and Papa.

 

“And those are your Mama Imelda and Papa Hector….” Miguel finished as Mama Elena went to continue preparing for the evening, “…. It’s going to Papa Hector’s first time seeing us all you know. He’s going to be so excited!”

 

………………………………………………………………………..

 

“Just walk through and we’ll meet you on the side.” Imelda gently pulled Hector into a hug, smiling when he relaxed into it.

 

It had taken them almost a year, but they were finally getting past all that their family had been through.

 

“What if… what if my photo isn’t on the ofrenda?”

 

“It is Papa.”

 

The pair of them turned as Coco slowly made her way over, gently taking her Papa’s hand.

 

“I made sure Miguel fixed the photo…” She continued gently, “… you’ll be allowed through.”

 

“Listen to your daughter…” Imelda pulled her omega closer and kissed him on the cheek, “… she knows what she’s doing.”

 

Hector nodded, taking a deep breath as he was the next to walk over to the gate, where a familiar female officer stood.

 

“Hello Hector…” she greeted him warmly, her male colleague standing behind her the exact same smile, “… just look into the camera.”

 

Hector nodded slowly, before straightening up, almost seeming to hold his breath in anticipation. There was a brief moment of silence, before the machine binged and both police officers beamed widely.

 

“Enjoy your visit Hector!”

 

It was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders as Hector sighed in relief. Making his way out of the gate, Imelda and Coco were there and waiting for him, with the Alpha immediately pulling her omega into a hug.

 

“Come on…” She whispered, “… big smiles now.”

 

As she took his hand and Coco took his other hand, the rest of the family joined on and they all started to walk across the marigold bridge. For a brief moment, Hector tensed, worried that he was just going to fall right through, focusing on his new shoes as he took that first step.

 

The marigold petals glowed underneath his feet and he continued forwards, smile slowly widening with every step as Pepita and Dante flew around overhead.

 

“Are you okay?” Imelda whispered as they reached the end of the bridge, “Do you need to sit down?”

 

He shook his head slowly, “I-I… I just never thought I’d get to see this. I never thought I’d actually be walking across this bridge, seeing my family and- “ He stopped, cutting himself off as the rest of the family glanced at each other in concern.

 

No matter how many times they apologised or felt the slightest twinge of guilt, every time they were reminded of it

 

“Well…” Imelda nervously cleared her throat, “… You don’t need to worry about that anymore. You’ll never need to worry about that anymore.”

 

……………………………………………………………………………………..

 

Seeing the first skeleton almost caused Miguel to slip into a panic attack.

 

Only when baby Coco reached out for him, happy to see her big brother (despite it only being ten minutes from the last time she’d seen him), did he actually relax. He hadn’t been cursed again… he was fine.

 

Taking the appearance of the ghostly skeletons in his stride and dressed in his own mariachi outfit, Miguel started to pluck out the beginning to his new song. It had taken him a long time to write, but it meant that he was on the right path to his musical career.

 

“Say that I’m crazy… or call me a fool.

But last night, it seemed… that I dreamed about you.”

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

Hector’s eyes were wide in amazement as they all followed the marigold petals up to a largish home, where children were running in and out of the archway, the other members of the family eagerly pointing out who was who.

 

An unfamiliar song could be heard from just outside the family home, peeking his interest as they walked inside.

 

“Ay mi familia, oiga mi gente. Canten al coro, let it be known

Our love for each other will live on forever… In every beat of my proud corazón!”

 

As the song came to a rousing finish, the Rivera family cheering and whooping before turning their attention to the warm food on the large table outside. As the majority of the undead family also made their way over, eager to see how everyone had grown over the last year.

 

Hector however, found himself hanging back, just as Miguel caught his eyes…. And gestured for him to follow him.

 

Stunned, Hector did.

 

They entered the ofrenda room, where Hector’s eyes were immediately drawn to the fixed photo right at the top, his own face smiling back at him.

 

“I never knew that Mama Coco had kept the picture….” Miguel broke the tense silence, his own eyes focused on the picture, “… If I’d known sooner, I would have put you up there, I promise.”

 

“It’s okay… it was probably for the best anyway.” Hector smirked and shrugged, “With how I was, I think I would have gotten lost out here. Instead of you being trapped in the Land of the Dead, I would have been trapped in the Land of the Living.”

 

Miguel chuckled slightly at this, before turning concerned eyes on the omega, “How have you been, is everything okay with you and Mama Imelda.”

 

“It was tough…” Hector admitted, “…Not bad, just tough.”

 

“And they’re all treating you right?”

 

Hector smiled warmly at the protective tone, “Yeah, they are… you’re going to make an omega very lucky one day.”

 

The smile turned into a wicked cackle at the slightly terrified look on Miguel’s face.

 

“Don’t say that…” the Alpha pleaded, “… Mama Elena is already scouting out every available omega girl or boy in a five mile radius. Apparently, being a musician will attract the best of them.”

 

“She’s not wrong.”

 

Miguel shrugged, “I think… I would prefer finding someone on my own terms, like with you and Mama Imelda.”

 

Silence.

 

“Papa Hector?”

 

Hector felt like his metaphorical heart was going to explode out of his chest at the term, “Y-Yeah?”

 

“Are you… proud of me?”

 

Hector knew that if he could cry, he would be at that moment, “Yeah…” he whispered, “… more than you could possibly know.”


End file.
